Looking Good for a Dead Man
by AnnabelleHawke022812
Summary: Alistair was meant to die with the Archdemon, but instead he crashes into the living room of a woman who not only knows everything about him, but looks exactly like his love back in Ferelden. When his world starts to bleed through to hers, and both worlds are in danger. He does whatever is necessary to protect the world he grew up in and the world that he comes to love.
1. Chapter 1

ALISTAIR

"So here we are, my love. Are you ready to save the world?" Sereda asked with just the tiniest bit of uncertainty.

"Of course I'm not!" Alistair said with amusement.

Sereda shot him a glare and he laughed before taking her into his arms, he lifted her up and kissed her soundly, pouring all of his love and passion into it, knowing it may be their last.

When he broke away and she whispered, "Alistair, I love you so much."

He wiped the tears streaming down her face and smiled, trying desperately to fight back his own from falling, "And I love you. Always."

They withdrew from each other and faced Fort Drakon, ready at last to save their world from darkness.

SERENA

_Worst. Day. Ever. Why, why do I keep working here?_ she thought to herself as she was going back to get her things before clocking out. She had only been working at the pharmacy two months before she had gotten veiled threats of termination for being 'too chatty' but every customer that came to her checkout always told her bosses how amazing she was, that she was actually concerned about their well-being._ Of course I am, I want to help people, make them smile, especially when they're sick and take no joy in anything else_, she thought as she walked to her car.

The customers praise is what kept her from being booted, she knew that. She was the only young woman working there so she knew jealously had to be a part of what made her older female superiors so adamant in harassing her. She wasn't particularly attractive by any means, she only stood at five feet and two inches tall, ash brown hair that went past her shoulders, brown eyes that depending on her mood would go from burnt orange to almost black, her nose was narrow and turned up slightly at the tip, with full lips to hide an embarrassing overbite. Her small stature was paired with being on the plumper side with wide hips, thick legs and a soft stomach. She was far from unfit however, she'd been dancing and doing gymnastics since she could walk, and martial arts since she was 12. She could take her 250 pound sensei down at 16, and kept up the exercises and disciplines even now at 22.

Her drive home from work was of course a pain; most drivers had lived in Washington their whole lives but still had yet to learn to drive in the rain. When she had finally made it to her home she locked the door behind her and bee-lined towards the bathroom for a long, hot shower.

She sat down on the couch with the blanket over her lap and controller in hand. The haunting song on the Dragon Age: Origins Menu came on and she loaded up her saved game. Her Dwarf Noble Rogue, Sereda looked almost exactly like her, and she was almost at the top of Fort Drakon. She had refused Morrigan's ritual, her first time doing so since she'd played the game, and she was desperate to find out what would happen.

Battling the Archdemon always got her blood pumping. Pressing buttons furiously shouting, "Shitshitshit! Hurry up and diiiiiiiieeeee!" at her TV screen. Finally, after almost all of her health potions and lyrium draughts for Wynne were gone the Dragon was nearly dead. The cut scene started with Alistair talking about taking the final blow.

"No...I didn't...I didn't want this to happen!" Serena said to herself. She watched as Alistair told Sereda that he loved her and then ran toward the Archdemon. He lifted his sword and stabbed the dragon through its skull. The white light blew through him and suddenly Serena's house shook violently; the bright light blew through her TV screen and before she had time to react a dark figure flew out of the screen and landed on her, flipping the couch back and knocking her out cold.

When she woke up she felt a large pressure on her chest, like a boulder had landed on her. "Craaaaaap! Earthquake...Ouch!" She yelped in pain when she tried to move then froze solid when the stone on her chest groaned.

"Oooooh, my head..." the man grumbled as he sat up, looking at Serena at first with surprise, worry then longing. "Sereda!" he whispered, before pulling Serena into a fierce kiss.

Serena, scared out of her wits and confused, did the only thing she knew to do. She shoved him off her as hard as she could and punched him in the throat.

ALISTAIR

_Can't breathe, ow ow ow ow! _The pain in his throat was near unbearable and he tried his best to breathe, all the while Sereda scrambled to her feet and ran to another room, she came back seconds later holding a strange square thing up to her ear in one hand and a small canister pointed at him in the other. Why would she attack him? They had won! They were both safe and so was Thedas? Why was she so upset?

"I'm calling the police, don't move or I swear I will mace your crazy ass! How did you get in my house?!"

He watched her closely and finally noticed that this wasn't his Sereda. This woman was taller, softer, and her nose was narrower.

"ANSWER ME!" she screeched while waving the canister at him.

After finally finding his voice he rasped, "Alistair, my name is Alistair. I apologize for scaring you, I don't really know how I got here; one second I had my blade through the Archdemon's skull, the next I was in your home. I thought you were my love and fellow Warden Sereda and that's why I kissed you. I'm sorry; please don't do whatever it is you planned on doing with that tiny thing in your hand? I imagine it won't end well for me."

She immediately put the canister of "mace" whatever that is, down and dropped the square thing away from her ear. Her jaw dropped and eyes bore into his face, as if trying to establish if he were real.

He saw her pinch her arm and looked at her quizzically, "I'm pretty sure that this isn't a dream Miss...?"

"I'm Serena, I can't believe you're actually real. You're supposed to be a video game character. You're supposed to stay in the game! What the hell is going on?!" She started hyperventilating and backing towards the wall.

"Whoa calm down!" he said as gently as he could in an attempt to soothe her, "I'm just as confused as you are, I am supposed to be dead, like really completely dead. Yet I'm here, with you. I don't know how or why, but we will figure it out, alright? Just please breathe. Breathe for me." He slowly stepped towards her, hands away from his body and palms up to show he wouldn't hurt her.

She eyed him warily before relaxing her body and taking a deep breath. "Ok" she said while looking up at him. "Ok, we will figure it out together."

SERENA

"So...what's a video game?" he asked while helping her put her couch back up, luckily it wasn't completely smashed considering he was in a full set of heavy plate armor. _Crap, he's gonna need clothes!_ He was much taller than he looked in the game and every bit as handsome.

"Well it's like a play, except instead of people, they use computers to create the characters."

"Ok...what's a computer?"

_Shit_. "OK...computers are machines, they can help you do paperwork, they can send messages to people so you don't have to send a messenger and they can also play games." He still looked confused so she changed subjects, "So my TV oddly enough wasn't damaged by the blast, damn thing still survived having a full grown man in plate armor fly through it, wonder why that is. Oh! Speaking of armor... you can't wear that here in my world, there's no need for it here. What are your measurements so I can get you clothes?" She watched him look himself over and shrug, "Alright I'll just have to guess your size then... ummmm well go ahead and take off your armor so you don't break anymore furniture, I promise you're safe here, no darkspawn, no bandits, just me."

"Yeah and you punched me in the throat, so how am I safe?" he said with a chuckle as he started unfastening his armor.

She laughed nervously while twisting a strand of her hair around her finger. _God he is good looking..._

"So why do you look like Sereda? Your name even sounds like hers, is that part of the game? Did you do this," he waved a hand in her general direction, "on purpose?"

_Oh, tough one_. "Well let me make some coffee and I'll explain, I'd make you tea but well, I don't drink it often so I never buy it. Just have a seat…" She looked at his still gore covered body, even without his armor his head and underclothes were covered in darkspawn blood..._ick._ "Actually let me show you how to work the shower and I'll try to find something decent to wear around the house until I can get you some clothes."

She showed him into the bathroom and after a few minutes of confusion and questions he finally got the main bits of the shower.

She closed the door behind him and was finally able to flip out for a second. "Oh crap! Alistair Fucking Theirin is in my house. A smokin' hot fictional character is using my shower. How, why, how?!"

She paced the room trying to figure out what to do. How does one start to search for a way to get a fictional character back to his world? How can he even come out of it?!

"So he came through when he killed the Archdemon, so maybe if I turned on the game it will send him back?"

She quickly turned on her TV and Play station and opened up Dragon Age, but instead of the main menu screen it was a picture of what looked like Flemeth's hut. She inched closer to the TV, then nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the familiar cackle of The Witch of the Wilds.

"My dear girl, I know what you are going to ask, and the answer is no. He can't come back here." Her face popped up on the screen, her face and hair the only things being visible.

"Why, he survived? Why can't he go home? The Blight is over! He can go home and be the King Ferelden needs! Did you bring him here? Why here? What's going to happen now, why ar-"

"SILENCE!" Flemeth spoke stern but soft and Serena immediately stopped talking. "He cannot come back because if he comes back, he will die. He is the last Theirin, he NEEDS to survive! I sent him to your world because I wanted to keep him alive, while keeping the balance in place here, you and I both know he didn't want to be King, he just wanted to live in peace. Now he can. To answer your question, 'Why you?' Well the answer my dear is...why not?"

She cackled again before the screen went black and the PlayStation started smoking, Serena tried to turn it off, salvage it somehow, but Flemeth had melted it, and the game disk into ruin.

Alistair came out of the shower then, a red towel wrapped around his waist and a hand worrying the back of his neck, "So I'm not going home then, am I?"


	2. Chapter 2

SERENA

"No, I'm afraid you're not. Before Flemeth decided to melt the only way I know of right now to Thedas, she said she sent you here to keep you alive...and if you go back, you'll die." Her voice had gotten shaky at that last part, knowing that not only had he been thrown into a new world that he knew nothing about, but that he also had no chance of going back without dying.

She looked up to find his hands balled in to fists at his sides, jaw clenched, and tears pouring from his eyes. She reached out to comfort him, but he shrugged her off.

"So it's all lost to me now, Sereda, the Grey Wardens, Ferelden? I can never have any of that back, no matter what I choose? Either stay in a place that I don't understand with a woman I just met, or go back home to die?!"

He turned his back to her, flailing his arms and swearing. He was so angry that he didn't seem to notice the red towel fall from his hips and down to the floor. Serena coughed at the sight of his naked form. _Oh my... _A blush crept up her face.

She should probably tell Alistair, but surely just one more – _Damn it Serena, keep it together! "uhm, Alistair?"**  
**_

"What?!" he snapped, turning to face her.

Her face grew even hotter. "You're naked!" She gasped while quickly looking at anything but his gorgeous chest dusted with golden hair, beautifully toned abs trailing down to his thick – _Bad Serena! You stop that, right now! Crap, ok…_

He glanced down at himself and flushed a deep red, grabbing the towel to cover himself. "So that would be my cue to stop complaining and ask for some clothes."

She tried, oh God how she tried not to laugh, but seeing him flustered did her in. She erupted in a fit of laughter and fell on to the floor, after a moment she could hear him laughing too!

Taking the time to catch her breath before she spoke between giggles, "Yes, let's get some clothes on you before your face matches that towel!"

She led him into the bedroom and started searching through her drawers. _Damn, the only t-shirt long enough and it's bright pink! W_ith bold black letters spelling out: DON'T LAUGH IT'S YOUR GIRLFRIENDS SHIRT. Well, she could be evil and make him wear it, or she could be even more evil and have him go shirtless... _Serena...no. We don't scandalize already confused men, no matter how good looking they are._

She steeled her nerves, pulled her mind from the gutter and picked out a pair of baggy sweatpants she hoped would be long enough. "Here you go, it's all I've got until I can go out and get you some clothes. I'll leave in the morning to pick you up some things." She handed him the clothes and stepped out to let him change.

A few moments later and came out in just the sweatpants with a glare. "Pink? Really? I hate you, you're a bad person."

He sat on the couch next to her and after blushing a bit at his chest and oh Lord those arms, she cleared her throat and said, "Ah, well it's all I had, I'm sorry. Like I said I'll be getting you some clothes tomorrow morning. It's now 3 in the morning and I think it'd be best to get some sleep."

She went to the closet by the door and grabbed a pillow and a blanket and passed it to him. "Sorry I don't have another bed, I'll look out for that stuff online tomorrow. I'm off to bed, if you have a nightmare come get me and we will talk. Good night." She went to her bedroom, closed the door and was out at soon as her head hit the pillow.

ALISTAIR

He knew he should be devastated, he had lost everything he wanted. He had lost Sereda. He never wanted to be king and he had to leave her, she put him on the throne and broke both their hearts doing it. Yet somehow he wasn't as upset as he was earlier, he was still alive which was better than being dead and he could start over where no one would expect him to be anything he didn't want to be.

He lay back on the couch and contemplated what he would do now with this second chance. He could be a baker, or a blacksmith! Although both guaranteed burning himself, so perhaps not. Until then he was absolutely indebted to Serena, the woman who took him in without question, though all this may be just as confusing for her as well. He had to admit she was very beautiful, and that thought stung. He missed Sereda, his beautiful Dwarven bard. Tears stung his eyes as he fought to keep his emotions in check, eventually he gave up, sitting up with his head in his hands and cried, for everything he lost, and everyone he loved.

He and Sereda had sacrificed everything for Ferelden; putting him on the throne to stop civil war! It was never enough, he knew that. Ferelden would never stop asking for more of them, but now Sereda had to do it alone. That thought broke him and he sobbed into his hands. She'll find someone else. Someone who can keep up with her, with everything she is. That sweet, energetic dwarf was the light of his life, but there was nothing he could do and crying about it wouldn't solve anything. So he lay down, closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

SERENA

She woke in the morning to find Alistair sleeping peacefully on the couch. _Peacefully? Aren't Grey Wardens supposed to have nightmares?_

She shrugged it off and looked him over. He looked almost the same as in the game but his hair was darker, the sandy blonde wasn't punctuated with the bright blonde spots, his stubble was lighter, like someone poured gold flakes on his face

"Gold flakes, seriously? Get a hold of yourself Serena."

She didn't realize she had spoken out loud until Alistair popped up, eyes half lidded and hair a mess. "Zevran give me back my small clothes!" Then he lay back down and started snoring softly.

She laughed quietly before walking into the kitchen to make the ultimate Warden breakfast, after scrambling half a dozen eggs, frying two pounds of bacon, and making six giant pancakes she laid it all out on the breakfast bar, poured two cups of coffee and woke Alistair up.

After breakfast, which she was certain Alistair didn't even taste, she got herself ready to go get clothes for him.

"l already dialed my phone number into the house phone so all you have to do is press this button and you'll be able to reach me. Call if you need anything. I should be back in an hour."

She showed him how to turn on the TV and left him alone to go shopping. "I hope he'll be ok" she mumbled as she pulled out of the apartment complex.

ALISTAIR

He sat on the couch staring at the screen before him, engrossed in what looked to him like a mad man in with a wand and a big, blue box saving people from monsters or "aliens" as the mad man had called them.

This world was so strange; all it took to save it was a man in a box. So simple, nothing like Thedas, where there was never a day of peace thanks to the darkspawn, blood mages, slavers and bandits.

In Thedas the Chantry controlled everything; persecuting mages and anyone else that questioned the Makers word. Here though, anything was possible. Anyone could be anything and nothing seemed off limits.

He jumped up in excitement at this new world and decided to look around his new home, the paintings along the wall showed Serena and what looked to be her family. He saw two paintings and both had different women in each frame, and both had The love of a mother is second to none carved into the frame._ Two mothers? _He'd have to ask her about that.

Another painting showed a younger Serena with two young women and 4 young men. _Siblings maybe?_ They all resembled her in some fashion, yet there's so many of them! One thing he also noticed was that out of all the pictures on the walls, there wasn't a single one showing her father. _Is she a bastard like me? Do we have something in common?_ He moved to a picture of her and a man about the same age as his 25 with golden eyes and a mop of brown curly hair. _Did she have a man she didn't speak of?_ There wasn't much time between his arrival and this morning to ask her about herself. She seemed to know everything about him, speaking of his nightmares and making Warden sized meals as if she were a Warden herself. Yet he knew nothing about her, and all these pictures only added more questions than answers. _Who was this Serena, and why was it her living room that he ended up crashing into?_

He explored every room except her bedroom, out of respect for her privacy. All the knick-knacks caused him even more confusion. A thin silver book lay on a desk in the second bedroom and when he tried to open it, it beeped and whirred making him scramble out of the room.

He pressed the button on the phone thingy that Serena gave him. It made a strange noise for a moment until he finally heard her voice, "Hey, you alright I just left the store."

"Yes, I'm fine but...well I think I broke your book... I'm sorry. All I did was touch it I swear!"

He was afraid she would be angry at him for touching her things but her voice was calm when she said, "What book, what happened Alistair?"

"Your silver book, I tried to open it but then it did a beeping and a kind of groaning sound so I put it back and called you."

After a tense silence he was startled by her laughter "Oh you didn't break it, you turned it on! It's called a laptop; I'll show you how it works when I get there. Gotta go about to drive"

"Drive?"

"Explain later, bye!" And she hung up.

He scratched his head at the things she said, again he found himself completely stumped by her, but damn it all he was going to figure her out! He steeled his resolve and with a determined grin, he waited for the mysterious Serena to return


	3. Chapter 3

Serena

When she arrived back home she felt as if her feet were lead, she wanted to go see him again, but she knew he had questions, about this world and about her. She was afraid of explaining her past. She was worried that he may not want to stay with her when he found out about the things she had done. She prepared for the worst, heaved a big sigh and a_ 'here goes nothing'_ and entered her apartment.

Alistair was sitting on the couch, eyes glued to the TV screen, while a Doctor Who marathon danced across the screen.

"So this one man, this one mad man with a box and 2 people that travel with him save the world? How often does he do it? Have you ever met him? He seems fantastic we should go see him! I'd love to meet a hero like him!" Alistair fired off question after question at her, excitement in his eyes and a big grin on his face.

After he finally ran out of breath she was able to explain, "Doctor Who is a show, a play of sorts. The people on the screen are actors, and the monsters are people in costumes, or puppets, or computer animated."

He looked crestfallen for a moment before she dropped the bags on the floor and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It also happens to be one of my favorite shows, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. That means we have something in common now, aside from loving cheese of course."

He smiled down at her, and the moment she met his eyes her heart had started pounding in her chest, as if it wanted to break out and give him a hug. She quickly looked away and flushed, then bent down to pick up the bags from the floor.

She walked to the breakfast bar to set them down, pulling out some things and passed them to Alistair. "I hope they fit, if not I can exchange them, they aren't much but you'll be comfortable. Oh I almost forgot!" She pulled out a pack of boxer briefs and tossed them to him, "At least her you don't have to worry about Zevran taking your smalls."

He looked at her in disbelief. "How did you know that he likes to steal my small clothes? You know what, never mind, if it mentions it in this game of yours, then I don't wanna know. I'll uh, I'll go change." He blushed crimson and practically ran to the bathroom.

She had to laugh at how easy it was to make him blush; apparently the game got that right.

When he walked out of the bathroom her heart did that 'come here big guy, bring it in' leap again. The grey V-neck t-shirt clung to his torso like it was painted on and the dark-wash jeans brought out the animal in her. _Lord above, I do love a man in jeans._

He grinned sheepishly at her, and lifted his arm above his head to rub the back of his neck, exposing that delicious V line between his hips, and the dusty blonde happy trail that led down below the waistband of the jeans.

She hadn't been aware how long she was staring until he cleared his throat, snapping her out of her filthy train of thought, "Oh, uh sorry. What did you say?" she stammered, feeling the flush creep up her neck and face.

He chuckled. "I asked if I look alright, but judging from the blush and the drool, I'll take that as a yes."

Serena quickly checked her face to find she had in fact, been drooling. She wiped her face. _Crap, way to go you pervert! _"Well give me a turn; I wanna see how it looks from the back," she said a bit too enthusiastically.

He raised an eyebrow at her, but turned around anyway. _Oomf, dat ass!_ Was the only thought she could manage. She'd seen him naked, yet nothing could beat a good looking man in jeans and a t-shirt.

"You look great!" she said, hoping to distract him before he realized just how much she was ogling him. "So, would you like to see something amazing, horrifying, funny and completely insane?"

His eyebrows rose almost to his hairline. "Uhm, what is it?" he squeaked.

She put on her best mischievous smile. "I'm talking about the internet."

ALISTAIR

A jolt of fear and curiosity gripped him, and before he could respond she had ran to the second room to grab the silver lap book thing.

One thing he knew for certain about her was that she found him attractive and never really tried hard to hide it. She openly gaped at him when he stepped out of the bathroom to show off the clothes. To be honest it made him feel a bit smug. _What can I say, little women love me._ He chuckled to himself.

Serena came bouncing out of the room, jumping over the back of the couch and landing gracefully on her...her backside. No, there's no way he noticed the curve of her ass or her thick thighs and it certainly didn't make him wish that he were her pants_. Whoa! Down Alistair, you've known her less than 24 hours! Give it a rest, man._

He went to sit next to her as she flipped open her laptop and a picture of her and a young woman her age with brown hair and glasses.

"Who is that?" He leaned in closer to get a better look and found his face right next to hers. _Don't look down her blouse, don't do it!_ He snuck a peek at her more than ample cleavage and tried his best to think of things to stop the ache that had formed in his pants. _The Grand Cleric. Wynne. Oghren. Sten naked dancing the Remigold… Mission accomplished._

She turned her face towards him to speak and he heard the hitch in her breath and saw the blush spread across her cheeks. "Oh that's Tahlia, we've been friends since we were kids. She moved away a few years ago, but we keep in touch. So, what would you like to know about our world? Just ask and I can type it into my genius machine and you have an answer!"

He had thought about this all day, what to ask. What was the internet? No, that answer might be more than he's capable of coping with right now. Then it hit him. Serena knows all about him, if the way she interacted with him were anything to go by. He wondered if anyone else knew about him too.

"Are you the only one in this world who knows who I am?" he asked with more confidence than he actually possessed.

She looked at him like she was debating on something, then a smile crept over her face. "Oh, my dear, dear Alistair. You have a fan club! Just wait and I'll show you."

SERENA

She knew that she probably shouldn't do this, showing him the endless amounts of smutty fan fiction stories that had been written about him. But she was in a mood to fluster him, especially since all he had to do was sit next to her for her to become flustered.

She got to the fan fiction website, logged in and immediately went to the profile of one of her favorite authors, JenniferHawke. It was at this point that Serena had second thoughts. She knew which story she wanted to show him, but it was just so decadently kinky that his face my catch fire. _Eh, fuck it. This'll be funny. _She clicked on the link to 'Carnal Desires'.

ALISTAIR

She handed him the laptop and showed him how to get to the next page. He noticed that instead of reading along with him, she was watching his face. "Have you read this before?" he asked, suddenly wary of the devious look in her eye.

"Maybe," she replied with a shrug, "trust me, it's worth reading."

He shot a small glare at her, then turned to start reading. He saw that he was in the story, but Sereda wasn't. Instead it was a woman named Solona Amell. Apparently she was the love of his life in this story.

He opened his mouth to ask a question but she stopped him with by raising her hand. "Uh uh, first. You didn't want to know about the game yet, and second save all questions until you're finished. Now go on and read it, please," she said with a smile that threatened to turn him into jelly.

_Sereda smiled that way before she dragged me into the forest to...OH!_ He blushed at where his thoughts were going and quickly turned back to the screen. So he and Solona go to Kirkwall, to meet her cousin. Wait Zevran is there? Oh this isn't gonna go well at all. Then he and Zev... _wait...WHAT?_! They arrange to have Solona's cousin, Hawke's companions come with them camping.

He went to the next page and what he found there nearly made his head explode. His pants started to get tight again as he read about Solona having sex with Zevran, a mage named Anders, a dwarf named Varric, and a lyrium tattooed elf called Fenris. All the while the story him sits back pleasuring himself as he watches.

"Uh...oh...oh my...I." Then it hit him, she did that on purpose to rile him up! He didn't know whether to be mad or impressed at her sneakiness. "So people actually like me THAT much?! To write stories about me doing these sorts of things, have they no shame?! Didn't they know that I would find this?!" he squeaked at the last part, he knew there was no point in being upset but he had only ever been with Sereda and the things this story mentions was a lot more than he was prepared for.

She saw the blush on his face. "Up until today, you didn't exist in our world except through a screen," she said quietly. "The people here love you, they write these things because they love your personality, some love your body," he blushed as her eyes raked over him, "and some love the fact that even though the world treated you like crap, you still tried to smile. You are a good an honorable man, Alistair Theirin. That's why people love you. Also you're down right sexy so yeah, a lot of us write lady porn starring you."

He had smiled at her kind words then became confused all over again. "Lady porn? Is that what this," he points at the screen, "is called? Do you write things like this too? I'd love to read it." He lowered his voice and leaned forward into whisper into her ear, "Show me."

When she pulled away and looked up at him he saw her eyes had gone dark with desire, she licked her lips and stared into his eyes, freezing him where he sat. _Too_ _soon, Alistair you know that. You barely know this woman_. He managed to break from her gaze and stand before realization dawned on him, the flirting, the story, all of it was to deflect from what he really wanted to ask her.

He stood over her and watched her gaze go from hot to icy in the span of one question, "Who are you?"

SERENA

"Who are you?" The question made her feel as if she'd been slapped, she knew he would ask, she knew he would need to know, but she was afraid he'd rather brave the world alone than find out the woman he'd been staying with had spent most of her youth in a psych ward.

"I am a woman, my name is Serena and I work at a pharmacy, apothecary to you. What else do you need to know?"

She stood and tried to walk away but he grabbed her arm and made her face him. "I want to know why you only have paintings of only two friends in your entire home, that I see two women who could be your mother and none of your father. Please tell me, how am I supposed to trust you if you won't do the same for me?"

She looked down in shame, contemplating if she should tell him but after a moment he spoke again, "I'll make it easy for you. Either you tell me, or I leave. Your choice."

_Crap_, that was the last thing she wanted; this world was cruel to those who didn't know how to handle it. Her choice was made. "Alright sit down."

They sat back on the couch and she grabbed a pillow to hug to her chest. "When I was 16, I started having these hallucinations, seeing Dragons in the sky, dead people littering a field, monsters crawling out of the ground… Well, one day my dad -" tears fell down her cheeks at the mention of her dad. "He was driving me from my psychiatrist when a huge dragon spouting purple flame, and yes it was the Archdemon flew over us." He opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off. "I had never even heard of the game until two years go. I yelled for my dad to look out and grabbed the wheel to move us out of the way of the dragon. We hit an oncoming truck. He died instantly," she sobbed.

He wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin atop her head, rubbing her back gently. Rehashing the worst day of her life hurt like Hell but she continued anyway, he deserved the truth. "I came out without a scratch, despite the car being destroyed and on fire. When all was said and done I was declared mentally unfit to be around my brothers and sisters, so they locked me up in an asylum for four years, I got out at age 20, and I haven't had a vision since then. That's what I thought you were when I pinched myself; I thought I had started hallucinating all over again. So if you want to leave I understand. I know living with a crazy person who killed her own father doesn't appeal to most."

She looked up at him, and he looked as if he were deep in thought. She moved to pull away but he just held her tighter, "Serena, you are not crazy. You saw pieces of my world before you even knew what they were. What happened to your father was an accident; it was tragic and horrifying but an accident all the same. Something protected you that day, kept you completely unharmed. I get the feeling you are more a part of why I'm here than Flemeth let on, and there is no way I'm leaving you here alone to fight this by yourself. Do you hear me, Serena? I. Will. Not. Leave."

He pulled away to lift her chin to make her look at him, and there she saw something, something raw and determined. She knew then that whatever happened, he would keep her safe


	4. Chapter 4

Alistair

Three months had passed since he crash landed in her living room, and his head was so full he felt it was about to burst. She had taught him everything from how to use the computer on his own, to turning on the microwave. She had taught him all the slang she knew to help him blend in such as 'Broseph, Sweet baby Jesus and calm your tits' the last one always made him laugh, because he never knew that breasts needed calming!

She had told him about the main religion here, Christianity and he decided he kind of liked it. Their God and Jesus were meant to be loving deities who never left the side of their people and cared for all equally. It sounded a hell of a lot better than the Chantry, that's for sure. She even went to work during the week, leaving him alone during the day to do whatever he pleased.

She had ordered him a thing called 'pizza' and had given him the money to pay for it and he took the flat box gladly before closing the door and sitting down on the couch. The pizza smelled wonderful and he figured he could watch some news (brilliant that you find out what's happening so quickly here!) while he ate. He turned on the TV and his stomach dropped, the news reporter was talking about reports of attacks on family homes near Sedro Woolley and Mount Vernon. Men were stabbed and mutilated and the women were taken.

He knew the signs of darkspawn raids when he saw them and he immediately called Serena, "Hello? You're lucky you caught me on my lunch break. Not feeling too lonely I hope."

He could hear her smile through the phone and almost laughed before he remembered why he called, "No, actually you need to come home now. I think the darkspawn have come to this world. I'm watching the news and there have been murders, gruesome murders. Men were killed, and from what the reporter is saying, it also looks as if someone were feeding off their flesh. The Women were taken, just gone without a trace. And I can feel them Serena, I hadn't sensed any darkspawn here since I arrived, but I sense them now. Come home where it's safe, please."

He sat on edge while waiting for her response, after what seemed a lifetime she said, "Ok, I'll get my things and tell them something to get out of work. When I get home we will do more research on this to see if anywhere else has had these attacks. I really hope that you're wrong, but I have the feeling you're not. I'll see you in half an hour. Bye."

She hung up and he heaved a sigh of relief, he certainly hoped he was wrong too, but he knew he wasn't. His Warden senses never failed him, and at that moment, those senses were tingling.

SERENA

She ran out of her work like her hair was on fire, hoping against all hope that this was all just a nightmare. That she'd wake up and there would only be Alistair and no darkspawn. Ah, Alistair. The tension between the two of them was more than she could stand; every hug, every brush of fingers against her skin, the fact that he liked to sleep without a shirt on! She wanted him, and he knew it. He also wanted her too, she felt it in the way he hugged her just a tad bit longer than most would, the way she caught him looking at her body like he were a lion and she the helpless gazelle. Whether it was chivalry, or nervousness she didn't know but he hadn't even kissed her. Three months she'd been living with the hottest man on the planet, had set up his bedroom, taught him all she could about her world and he still didn't even kiss her. "Just my luck! Pffft men!" she exclaimed before getting into her car.

She started to turn the key when a vision stopped her dead. There was blood and fire, she was running for her life, as far as she could go until a female voice called her name. She turned and saw a small figure walk through the flames. When she saw the figures face she gasped, "Sereda! Why are you here?"

The little rogue pulled out her daggers pointing one at Serena, "I will not let you take him from me!" Then she snapped back into reality. She took a second to calm her nerves and make sense of what she saw. Sereda wanted to kill her! How did she end up in our world? So much blood, so much death.

She put her head on the steering wheel and tried to breathe. After several minutes she finally felt alright enough to drive home, thinking of a way to tell Alistair what she saw.

When she walked through the door Alistair immediately drew her into a near crushing hug, "I'm so glad you're safe! I was afraid that something had happened to you."

"I'm…fine...can't...breathe," she choked out, she set her down quickly and gave her a moment to catch her breath, "Alistair I had a vision, they've started again."

He gave her a questioning look, and so she clarified, "There was blood and fire, I was running and running until I heard someone call my name, I turned around and...and Sereda was there. She tried to kill me, said she wasn't going to let me take you from her."

His expression turned from worry to fear, and then longing at the mention of Sereda. It was clear he still wasn't over her, and Serena couldn't fault him for that. They had been through so much together in only a year, and she was his first love. Though it made her heart ache, she knew that he would never truly have that look of longing directed at her.

She walked past him and sat down on her couch, opening her laptop. After a moment he joined her and asked, "So what are we going to do now?"

She put on her best mask of indifference to hide the hurt she was feeling. "I am going to look for any other signs of darkspawn, or anything else that could tell us that the worlds are bleeding together. You are going to polish your armor, chances are we're going to war."

ALISTAIR

Well, this was awkward. Sereda tried to kill Serena over him in a vision that may or may not happen in the near future. To hear Sereda's name after 3 months of being gone stung a bit, he had thought she had moved on, or he hoped she had. His feelings for Serena had been growing from attraction to a deep caring, it wasn't love. Not yet, but he would be lying if he said he didn't imagine what it would be like to kiss her, to feel her soft skin under his hands, to make her writhe beneath him and cry out his name in ecstasy. He took things like this seriously though, and he didn't want to spoil their friendship and trust with a one night tumble. If he was going to lay with her, he wanted to be sure that they each felt the same way. He knew she cared for him, it was written all over her face. Whether she felt as strongly as he did was what he'd been unable to figure out. He tried telling her how he felt before, but he panicked and instead of saying, "I've come to care for you a great deal." It came out, "I like your shirt!" He spent that night kicking himself for not having the guts to tell her how he felt about her.

He went to the closet in his bedroom where his armor sat and began cleaning and polishing his chest plate. She looked so sad when she came home, and he wanted to do something to cheer her up, and find a way to express how he felt. She had gotten him his very own laptop as a way to keep him entertained and he dropped his armor and picked it up, after searching through the songs she had downloaded for him he'd finally found the perfect way to do both.

SERENA

"Hey See! Could you close your eyes for a bit, I want you to hear something but it needs your eyes closed so you can really listen."

Alistair had his laptop tucked under his arm, and he looked quite nervous. "Is everything ok?" she asked, eyeing the laptop sceptically.

He ran his hand through his hair. "Yes, everything is fine. It's just...I have something to say to you, and whenever I try I mess it up, so I was hoping this could do the talking for me. So please just close your eyes and listen."

She smiled and closed her eyes, the anticipation of what he was about to show her building in her stomach. After a few clicks a song played and she listened carefully:

_Gimme your, gimme your attention, baby._

_Gotta tell you a little something about yourself._

_You're wonderful, flawless, oh you a sexy lady, but you walk around here like you wanna be someone else._

_Oh, woah. I know that you don't know it but your fine so fine_

_Oh woah. Oh girl I'm gonna show you when you're mine all mine._

_Treasure. That is what you are._

_Honey you're my golden star._

_I know you can make my wish come true, if you let me treasure you._

_If you let me treasure you._

_Pretty girl, pretty girl you should be smiling. A girl like you should never look so blue._

_You're everything I see in my dreams._

_I wouldn't say that to you if it wasn't true._

_Oh woah, I know that you don't know it but you're fine so fine._

_Oh woah I know I'm gonna show you when you're mine all mine._

_Treasure, that is what you are._

_Honey, you're my golden star._

_I know you can make my wish come true, if you let me treasure you._

_Oh if you let me treasure you_.

By the time the song was over she had tears in her eyes, she opened them to look at a hopeful Alistair with a nervous smile on his face. Without a second thought she leapt onto him, her lips crashing into his with all the emotions she's been trying to hold back since he crashed into her life. She wrapped her legs around his waist as one of his hands moved to her back to support her, the other tangled into her hair.

All the pent up affection and frustration pouring into that one glorious kiss. Her skin felt as if it was on fire, and she didn't care in the slightest if she got burned. She pulled away, gasping for breath, only to kiss him again between pants.

"You sweet, sexy, clever, amazing man," she whispered into his ear, voice thick with desire.

"So I take it you like the song?" He chuckled before kissing her forehead.

She nodded before reality came back to slap her for being a wishful thinker. "What about Sereda? I know I look like her, but I'm not. I'm not her, and I won't be her replacement."

He carried her over to the couch and sat her down, cleared his throat. "I am not looking for a replacement, or a one night roll in the hay for the sake of fun. I want you, you Serena Elizabeth McAllister. I want your light, and your laughter, your smile. I want you, if you'll have me. If we do this though, we take things slowly. Or as slowly as we can whilst living in the same place. I don't want to rush; I want to show you that you deserve to be loved, to be treasured. Will you let me treasure you?"

She had thought about that for a moment. Was she really getting this sweet, caring and gorgeous man all for her own? No lookalike exes to stand in the way? Pfft why was she weighing pros and cons when she could be kissing those sweet lips?

"Of course," she said while climbing into his lap, "yes, yes I will." She claimed his lips again, slowly this time. Taking every moment possible to savor that tingling feeling that this wonderful man caused.

He ran his tongue across her lower lip and she gasped, allowing him to slide his tongue inside to explore her mouth. Her tongue danced with his and when she gently nipped at the tip of his tongue; a delicious groan escaped his chest and he fisted his hands into her hair. When they came up for air the only thing they both managed to say was 'Wow'.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in for another kiss when the apartment started to shake. Alistair quickly moved in front of Serena to protect her but then with a deep roar, black smoke appeared before them and a figure began materializing.

"Well, well. Much as I expected. I only knew it was a matter of time. Destiny and all that." The figure stepped out of the smoke and both Alistair and Serena looked at each other then to the figure. They both spoke at the same time, surprise and anger laces the word, "Flemeth."

Authors note: The song Alistair plays for Serena is 'Treasure' by Bruno Mars. I chose it because it wasn't a purely lovey dovey song, and it fits Alistair's train of thought. Many thanks to Enchantm3nt for being my beta! She rocks!


	5. Chapter 5

ALISTAIR

_Flemeth_. Why on earth would she be here, and how did she 'expect' them to come together?

"What do you want, Flemeth? Sending over another person from Thedas to crash on my couch? You keep this up and it's gonna get crowded. I've only got one bathroom."

He gaped at Serena's openly venomous and sarcastic remark. Was she insane?! Flemeth barked out a harsh laughed.

"No, fool girl. Someone has crossed over into this world. Two actually, but that isn't why I'm here. I'm here to warn you. I had thought that sending Alistair here would maintain the balance between our worlds by keeping the last Theirin alive, but I have discovered that I was wrong. The balance has shifted, and the Blight has begun to cross over into this world."

The signs were all there, but the reality of it left him filled with dread, he looked over to see that Serena was crying, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, she smiled up at him.

"So these people that came through, how did they do it, and can they help us end this?" he asked.

Flemeth turned her gaze on him. "I believe they can help you, yes. Whether they will or not I cannot say. One is at a nightclub in Seattle, the other is somewhere in the Cascades, but making their way here slowly. I assume you're going to find them?"

When they both nodded she said, "Good. Now Serena, I know you've had visions. I know the harm that they've caused you, but they are important. You are a tether between the two worlds. You can help put it back together again, the fear you felt over Alistair sacrificing himself is what gave me the power to send him here. If you had not felt so strongly, Alistair would have died, and Thedas would have fallen to ruin. Of that I am sure. You need to hold tight, my dear. Hold tight until it is time to let go."

With that Flemeth disappeared, leaving Alistair and Serena with more questions than answers.

"Tether between the-what the fuck does that even mean?! This shit just keeps getting more and more fucked up and fucking...shit…fuck!"

Alistair tried not to chuckle, knowing she only swore so much when she was stressed and angry. He pulled her closer to him and whispered in her ear, "it's ok, it'll be ok. She's only telling us what we need to know at this point and time. That's how she works. We will figure it out don't worry."

She smiled and kissed him softly before getting up. "Well, time to get on our dancing shoes, because we're going to a nightclub!"

SERENA

"I. Hate. Heels," she grumbled as she and Alistair walked to her car, all Alistair had to do was put on a pair of dark jeans and a black t shirt and he looked amazing, she on the other hand waxed, plucked, strapped and lifted every part she could think of, and some things she couldn't before squeezing into a gray wide strapped tank top and teeny black high waisted skirt. Her make-up was a simple cat eye paired with red lipstick, her hair left down in waves that swept past her shoulders.

"You look stunning, almost good enough to eat," Alistair said while grabbing her by the waist and pulling her in for a heated kiss. Thank God for lip stain'

"Down boy, you're the one who said we should take things slow." She giggled at the blush that consumed his face.

"Well if you're wearing that outfit then yeah, I think I might change my mind."

She all out laughed and with a wink she said, "come on big fella, let's go dancing."

ALISTAIR

It's so loud. So dark, yet blinding light flashed every so often. Serena took him to the bar and asked if he had seen anybody new come in recently. Or that's what he assumed she asked because he couldn't hear a bloody thing in this place. He saw the bartender point towards the stage and then the music changed. It went from a steady beat to what sounded like guitars (yes, Serena told him they were like lutes but manly) then one light popped up onto the stage. A dusky skinned woman with black hair danced onto the stage in a short white dress and black thigh high boots, and he knew exactly who she was, it seemed Isabela had decided to bring her wild one woman party to this world, he should've known she wouldn't resist if she'd found a way in, debauchery, booze, and sharp pointy objects were always Isabela's favorite things.

He watched Serena's face as it went from confusion, to recognition, to pure unadulterated joy as she ran towards the stage. He tried to follow her but the crowd was too thick for him to move through.

She somehow managed to gracefully get on the stage and walk up to Isabela, after a few minutes of conversation Isabella picked up a microphone. "Sorry sweet things, I'll be back in a bit, don't fret though. I have a surprise for you."

With that Serena and Isabela disappeared back stage. He wondered what they were doing back there, if Isabela had anything to do with it, it'd be nothing good. The unbidden image of Isabela and Serena naked together flashed through his mind, making him groan aloud. The music was loud so he knew that he'd go unheard.

A tap on his shoulder startled him and a man shouted in his ear, "Isabela and her friend want to see you, follow me." He followed the man into a back room, the man pointed at the door and said, "Start shit, get hit. Isabela isn't some skank, you treat her like a lady, got it?"

Alistair gave the man a quick nod. _If only you knew, my good man. Lady isn't in Isabela's vocabulary._ He walked through the door.

The ladies were sitting in dark brown leather chairs and Isabela gave him a wink and a smirk. "My my, Serena you were right. Chantry Boy does look damn fine in jeans."

SERENA

When she saw Isabela complimenting her Alistair a surge of jealousy shot through her. She was right of course. Alistair looked smokin' hot in jeans, but he is HER Alistair, no one else's.

"So, how is it you've managed to come here Isabela? I assume you've been here awhile?" Serena asked, genuinely curious as to how Isabela had gotten control of one of the hottest nightclubs in the state so quickly.

"Oh I've been popping in and out for a while now, found a portal or breach, whichever you prefer, about 5 or 6 years ago out in the Amaranthine. I come here every so often when I want a taste of something fresh. Seriously though the level of depravity in this world is astounding. Orgies are common place and everyone loves getting drunk and being half-naked. I only go back to Thedas for when I want to sail my ship, I just bloody love it here! Champagne?"

She offered a chilled bottle to both Serena and Alistair and when they both refused she shrugged and said, "Ah, more for me then. So why did you lot track me down, is it for what I hope it is...because if so, I'm certain I can accommodate."

"No, we aren't here for sex, we're here because the Blight is starting to spread into this world."

Isabela rolled her eyes, "Spoilsport. Yes, I've heard about that. What's it got to do with me?"

Serena kind of wanted to slap her but instead she scoffed, "are you kidding me? Both worlds will be ripped apart! That means no more modern sexy time, and no more Sirens Call. It's all going to be destroyed, we're asking for your help. You have favors you can call on in Thedas and probably here too. You have eyes and ears that we don't. Help us, please." She begged Isabela with her eyes and for a brief moment she saw sympathy in those golden eyes, before her indifferent mask snapped back into place.

Isabela sighed. "Alright, I'll help, on one condition!"

Serena was so excited by the fact that she had said yes she blurted out, "name it!"

She could see Alistair go pale, and maybe started to regret her decision. The Pirate Queens conditions usually involved death or nudity...or both.

Isabela laughed and said, "You have to dance up on that stage, tonight." Oh, well that doesn't seem so bad. She nodded and stood to leave but Isabela stopped her, "With him," she tilted her head towards Alistair, "and you don't know what the song is until it starts and you're on stage. That's my condition."

Serena still wasn't terrified of the prospect; she'd been dancing her whole life so she knew she wouldn't fall on her face or anything. Yet Alistair started to glare at Isabela like he wanted to throttle her.

"Ok, that doesn't seem to be a big deal. I'll do it. Alistair?" She looked at him patiently, after a minute of silence he nodded and Serena smiled, "great so, I'll need better stuff to dance in, got anything, Bela?"

Isabela nodded and shooed Alistair out of the room to change, "So I take it you two haven't done it yet?" she asked matter-of-factly, before adding "I can always tell, he looks so wound up already, I almost feel bad about what I'm about to do."

She handed Serena a pair of black spandex dance shorts and a black sport push up bra, Serena eyed the garment asking, "they actually make these? Sexy sport bras?"

Isabela chuckled and said, "Only if you know where to look kitten. Ditch the heels; the stage is safe to walk barefoot. I'm off to prepare the music, be on the stage in two minutes." With that she left Serena to change, and wonder what the hell she'd gotten herself into.

ALISTAIR

Isabela made him come out on to the stage and sit in a chair smack dab in the middle. Before leaving she walked over and ripped the top of his shirt a tad bit, he shouted in alarm but she only responded.

"You'll see soon enough, ah there she is. Show time."

Then she walked off the stage. He looked to his left and saw Serena and the breath left him. She was wearing these tight little shorts that left her thick legs exposed and a top that bared her soft yet toned abdomen, and her already large breasts looked as if they were going to spill over. _I hate Isabela, I hate her so much!_

The curtain opened and a spotlight appeared on both him and Serena before a soft beat began to play. Wait, he knew this song. Serena put it on his computer for him.

"No." He hadn't meant to say it aloud but his brain was on overload.

'_Ooo I got a body full of liquor with a cocaine kicker and I'm feeling like I'm thirty feet tall'_ Serena slowly walked towards him, hips swaying with each step, and his body froze on the spot.

_'So lay it down lay it down'_ she finally reached him stood behind the chair bending down and pushing her hands down his chest, he could smell her perfume, pomegranates and vanilla making his head swim.

She stood on one leg, bringing the other flush against her body before spinning around to face him and sitting on his lap_ 'Cause what I got for ya, I promise it's a killer you'll be bangin on my chest' _at 'Gorilla' she grabbed both sides of the tear at his chest and yanked, tearing his shirt down to his navel.

The crowd gasped. _'Oh shit, crowd! I should probably do something rather than sit_ _here then_.' He gripped her ass with his hands and lifted her up.

"Good one," she said before leaning back and placing her hands on the floor, he reached down with one hand, pressing it between her shoulder blades and lifting her back up to face him, before letting her feet touch the floor. He spun her around and brought her back to his chest, facing away from him. Seeing her in a natural element like this with the music playing, the sweat making her skin shine, it took all he had not to take her right then, but his Templar discipline maintained intact, even when she ground her ass against his ever growing arousal.

He groaned inwardly as he flipped her again to face him and picked her up, and sat her in the chair. He ripped the rest of his shirt off and dropped it to the floor, knowing two could play at this game.

SERENA

She hated Isabela, and loved her all at the same time, Alistair's bare chest shining with sweat, the closeness of the dance, the song. It was all enough to make her explode. _Keep it together, the songs not over yet,_ she scolded herself.

She stood up from the chair, running her hands down Alistair's chest before hooking her fingers in the belt loop of his jeans and pulling him towards her, and hooking a leg around his waist.

"I hate Isabela, this is so not fair," he groaned into her ear before putting a hand on her lower back and using his palm to gently push her back, allowing her to bend backwards.

He ran his fingers gently down her throat, chest, and stomach, making her shiver. _Songs almost over, let's see if I can make him crack, _she thought before bring herself back up to his chest, looking up into his eyes; they were dark with lust, his breathing heavy and skin flushed. He looked absolutely beautiful.

She broke first, she knew it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a fierce kiss as the song ended. If the crowd was booing or cheering, she didn't care. They had Isabela's assistance and she had gotten to dance with the most beautiful man in the world. It was the best night of her life.

ALISTAIR

After the dance was over he took her hand and led them off the stage, praying the ache in his jeans would cease before they went home. He also hoped Serena would slap Isabela for that stunt, but at the same time he was happy she had forced them to dance. The way the read each other's moves, anticipating what the other was going to do, he was very happy his shirt was in pieces on the stage because he felt like his skin was on fire.

When they arrived back in the room where they first met with Isabela she was there waiting. "Are you positive you two aren't down for a threesome? Because I am."

Serena laughed and he chuckled awkwardly. Serena said, "No, I think we've been scandalized enough tonight. We're gonna head home. I'll call you tomorrow with what we need."

She went to pick up her clothes and change but Isabela stopped her. "Keep them; they look better on you anyway. Shorts like that were made for an ass like yours. Now go on, I expect your call tomorrow."

Alistair tensed. Wearing such a provocative outfit one time was torture enough. Now she could wear it whenever she wanted? _I'm gonna die, I think, _he thought to himself before waving goodbye to Isabela and holding the door open for his Serena to walk out, staring at her plump backside the whole way out to the car.

Authors note: Thank you to my beautiful Beta Enchantm3nt for being her awesome self The song Alistair and Serena dance to is 'Gorilla' by Bruno Mars. Because if you think about it, if Isabela had her hands on a song like that, do you really think she WOULDN'T torture someone with it. Lol also I'm a Bruno Mars fan so. Thank you for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

Authors note: A very special thanks to Enchatm3nt, who has volunteered to be my beta and help polish up the story, All of chapters 1-5 have been given a face lift, so check them out! Now on to Chapter 6! This is set about 2-3 weeks after Chapter 5 and Isabela has done Serena and Alistair a solid by getting them in touch with the leader of a Mercenary agency! Woo hoo!

ALISTAIR

_He was standing on the edge of a giant chasm, trying his hardest not to fall, "You will fail again, just as you had before. You will fail, Bastard Prince. Both worlds shall be mine to do with as I please."_

_Alistair gripped his head as he tried to force the whispers out of his head, "You can't save her, she will die under my claws, I will break her, and when I am finished there will be nothing left of her. I will make you watch, I shall make you near witness to her suffering, so you will realize that you will never win. NEVER WIN."_

_Alistair screamed and clawed at his head, trying to block out the voice, trying to prove it wrong. He heard The Archdemon chuckle and roar inside his head, taunting him, laughing at him, an image of Serena's lifeless body forced its way into his kind. She looked so mangled so broken, then Serena's body opened its eyes and said, "Alistair...Alistair...Alistair..."_

_"Alistair!" His eyes flew open _and immediately found Serena's face. Fresh, whole, alive! He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her on top of him, attacking her lips in a fevered kiss. He heard her squeak of surprise turn into a moan of pleasure as he licked her bottom lip, demanding entrance. She complied and his tongue delved in to taste her, to prove to himself that she was still alive. He moved his kisses from her face down her jaw and licked that beautiful pulse point in her neck, making her gasp.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what's this about?" she breathed as he continued to kiss and lick every inch of her throat.

He bit down on the space where her neck met her and shuddered when he heard a deep moan rip from her chest. His hands moved down and cupped her ass, squeezing gently and pressing her into his erection.

She put a hand on his chest and sat up, cheeks flushed and lips swollen. "Whoa, ok what happened? Like I said I'm not complaining, but when I came in here you were screaming. What's going on?"

He took a moment for the lust to clear and gathered his thoughts. "The Archdemon. It was taunting me. I failed in killing him and he told me I would fail again," his voice faltered as he spoke, "It said it was going to kill you, and make me watch. He showed me your...your body. When I woke up and saw that you were alive I just...I needed proof that you were here, that you were alright. I got a bit enthusiastic, I apologize."

She gave him a look that said she understood, that she wasn't mad in the slightest. He sat up with her still on his lap, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close, head on her chest so he could feel her heartbeat.

"Oh, sweetheart it's ok. I'm here, I'm ok."

She held his head to her breast and whispered soothing words to him, telling him that it was all going to be alright, that she's still here, and won't be going anywhere. He cuddled closer into her chest, breathing her in. He'd be lying if he said he didn't wish to be here, with her, like this for the rest of his life, until the Taint takes him. He isn't sure if what he will do when that day comes, but he's certain that when it does, he'll have had the love of a lifetime. That he'll die a happy man.

"I love you, Serena. I love you."

He could her heartbeat increase and he tensed, preparing for rejection. His heart soared when rejection never came, and instead she said, "I love you too."

He pulled her down for another passionate kiss, pulling her down to lay beside him when they were done. He spooned against her back, falling asleep to the sound of her breathing and the smell of pomegranates drowning all his fears.

SERENA

She woke to the door bell ringing, groaning at the evil bastard who decided to come and interrupt her awesome cuddle time. Her whole body felt warm and she turned to snuggle herself into Alistair's chest. She heard him give a sigh of contentment before kissing her forehead.

'DINGDONGDINGDONGDINGDONG'

"Son of a-JUST A MINUTE!"

She sat up and moved to crawl over him but he trapped her on top of him. "No, let's stay here all day. The end of the World can wait."

She laughed and kissed his nose, "you know it can't, my love. Come on, out of bed. Let's see who's come to visit."

She got up, earning herself a playful swat to the rear by Alistair and went to open the door. The person on the other side was loudly banging on the door at this point and she opened the door saying, "I'm here god damn don't you realize it's...MOM?!"

She stared at her mother in shock, praying that this was a cruel prank, "Hi, sweetie! I thought I'd stop by for a visit! Are you gonna let me in or what? It's freezing out here!"

Serena scrambled to let her mother into the apartment while saying, "Mom, you should've called this is really a bad-" the shower started running. _Shitshitshitshit_.

Her mother gave her an amused look. "Oh, so you meant to hide your boyfriend from me, eh? Well, I'll expect you to properly introduce us once he comes out of the shower." Her mother paused and looked at Serena expectantly, "Well, are you going to make coffee or are you just gonna stand there all day?" She shot her mother a glare and stalked off to make the coffee.

There was a reason she never talked to her mother, ever since that accident her mother had treated her like she was less than her daughter, like a servant, or a co-worker you can't be openly rude to. She had never really been caring towards Serena throughout her life, but her father was there as a buffer between the two and to give the affection to Serena that her mother had failed to provide. Five years before he died he'd finally had enough, he left her mother Theresa (no, the irony was not lost on her) and married Leann, a warm and loving woman who Serena adored. After he died, Leann moved to California but still stayed in touch with Serena by way of weekly phone calls and constant emails. Leann never once blamed Serena for the accident, instead showing love and compassion that made Serena's heart swell at the memory of Leann hugging her before she was sent to the hospital.

"So mother, what brings you here? I take it this isn't a social call? Those aren't really your thing." She replied with a hint of snark as she handed her mother a cup of coffee.

"Oh dear, of course they're not. It's a waste of time to visit for the sake of visiting. No, I just wanted to make sure that you weren't going insane on me again. Last thing I need is to hear that you've gone on a rampage and killed someone else while claiming to have seen a unicorn or something."

Serena's rage threatened to bubble over but before she could speak Alistair walked in and said, "The last thing YOU need, dear lady perish the thought. The ONLY thing you need is to apologize to your daughter and leave, before you get yourself into trouble."

He walked over and put his arm around Serena's waist pulling her close as Theresa's eyes moved between them, "Ah, such a looker you are, and that accent! It makes me curious as to how Serena managed to bag you." She turned her gaze on Serena, "So how did you do it, hmmm? Your looks certainly weren't it and you're crazier than a bag of wet cats! Are you preg-"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Alistair shouted, making both Theresa and Serena jump, "You listen here, you old hag. Serena is a bright and beautiful woman. She isn't crazy, or mad, or any of the other hateful words you've spoken since walking through that door. I don't know why you're here, but you need to leave. I won't allow you to come in here and hurt her feelings."

Theresa looked as if she had been slapped and spat, "I don't see you that's your problem. I can talk to my daughter however I want to!"

Serena quickly got between the two of them, feeling a mixture of anger and pride; anger at her mother for having the audacity to come into her home and insult her, and Pride at Alistair for standing up for her. _Damn I'm lucky._

"Leave, now. Mother. You're not welcome here. You've never given a shit before, and I don't expect you'll start now. Leave my home and don't come back, before I throw you out."

Her mother looked at her and upon realizing she had been defeated, walked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

"What a bitch!" Alistair said with a hint of smugness, obviously proud if himself for championing his lady.

"Yeah, she never comes over actually. She usually calls to voice her complaints about be. Apparently she got a wild hair up her ass and decided she wanted to insult me in person. Thank you for defending me," she said with a shy smile as she stood up on her toes to kiss him softly.

"I'll always defend you, love. No matter what." Her heart swelled at the word love. She never believed she could find it, yet here they were. In love.

"Ok, let's get dressed; we have a meeting with that guy Isabela told us about."

"You mean that guy with the small army? Carmine something?"

She smiled and nodded, "Yeah, Carmine O'Donnell, he's a mercenary of sorts. Military all over the globe hire him and his team for stuff they don't wanna do themselves."

Alistair looked confused, "Why wouldn't a countries military not want to do things themselves? That's kind of how war works, doesn't it?"

Serena shook her head. "No, here we try to prevent war by disabling threats before they happen. That's what the mercenary groups are for, to go in, handle the threat, or get information, then get out unseen. It's how my world does things now. No open threats of attack, just lots of sneaky backstabbing between countries."

Alistair shook his head in amazement, "I don't have to like it, but I guess I understand it. If this is really a good chance to get an army to fight the darkspawn here, I'm game."

Serena smiled and kissed his temple. "That's the spirit love."

ALISTAIR

This guy was not fucking around. Carmine O'Donnell was about as tall as Alistair, but with about fifty more pounds of pure ass kicking muscle. "I command a small band of about thirty, but I can contact other agencies and get more men. Isabela had told me that there's an army of monsters coming to destroy everything, well I kinda like it here as is, so I'm gonna make sure you have the tools you need to stop this shit before it starts. Now, I've done my research and it seems that the attacks have been not only growing in numbers, but in frequency. They're also sprouting out across the state and into Canada, but all of them seem to be moving slowly East. I assume there is an explanation for that?" The man's gruff voice echoed through the main hall of what looked to be a giant training facility.

Alistair analyzed his words carefully, mulling them over before speaking, "I don't think they just mean to take only the state, if they're gonna conquer, they'll go to the most powerful place in the entire country, just like they did to Denerim."

Serena gasped beside him and he looked over to see she was white as a sheet, "They're going to attack Washington D.C., that's where the Archdemon will appear."

Alistair pulled her close to comfort her but she have a reassuring nod and so he turned back to Carmine, "How soon do you think they could be at the Capitol?" Carmine looked thoughtful for a moment, and then said, "At the pace they're at now? It'll be a few months at most. They've been stopping at every town they see to lay waste before moving on. President's declared a state of emergency over the whole nation, and is a hairs breadth away from declaring martial law. I'd find a way to contact him and tell him what you know, before the country falls into a panic induced anarchy."

Alistair nodded. "Alright, we need weapons, you all have guns here, so that puts us ahead of the darkspawn, but they don't get tired, they keep fighting until they're killed. They also have ogres, big nasty things with horns. Guns or not if we aren't properly prepared for those things we'll all be slaughtered."

Carmine looked at Alistair, as if he were sizing him up. After he seemed to have been pleased with his assessment he nodded, "Alright, well luckily you came to me first. I have tanks, and RPG's. Big booming bits of nasty that's sure to take down one of those ogres. I'll start training my people with them in the morning, and I expect you both back here tomorrow morning for weapons training. Can't stop this fucking Blight shit if you two get dead before the Fat Lady sings." With that he turned and walked out of the building to the soldiers drilling in the courtyard.

When Alistair and Serena left he felt like they went a step in the right direction, that they were well on their way to saving the world he fell in love with, and the girl who made it all worth it.

SERENA

On the outside she looked calm, but on the inside she was flipping out. How was she supposed to help save the world, she knows Martial Arts but what was she gonna do? Judo chop the Archdemon to death?! The words Flemeth said echoed in her mind, she was a tether between the two worlds, what did that mean? She wished Flemeth had just told her the whole truth rather than only bits and pieces. She pulled into her parking space when another vision froze her in place:

_She was standing on the roof of a building, the city below her in flames. She looked across the way at the large dragon spouting purple flame across the roof of the building in which it crashed. She saw two figures across the way, and by the time she recognized one as Alistair it was too late, the beast grabbed him in its talons and squeezed, crushing Alistair's chest before tossing him aside, she walked back a bit then ran as hard and as fast as she could, pulling out the daggers that had been sheathed at her sides, "I WILL NOT LET YOU TAKE HIM FROME ME!" she screamed as she lunged at the creatures face._

When she came to Alistair was watching her with concern. "Are you ok? Did you have another vision?"

She nodded as she burst into tears, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest. He softly stroked her hair as he let her sob into his chest, soaking his shirt with her tears. "You, you died" she whimpered, holding him tighter to her. "It crushed you in its claws and tossed you aside like you were nothing! I just...I love you so much; I won't let it take you. I can't let it take you."

He lifted her chin up to make her look at him. "Hey, it's ok. I'm right here; you're not going to lose me," he whispered. She knew he was lying, she knew what happens to the Warden who kills the Archdemon, but for right at that moment, she let herself believe that she gets to have him forever.

ALISTAIR

He knew she was right to be afraid; he was the only Grey Warden here, so he knew that he'd have to take the killing blow. The last time he attempted to kill the Archdemon he'd been prepared to die, he'd have done everything he could to protect Thedas, to protect Sereda. Now this time he had much more to lose. Both worlds would be destroyed if he didn't kill The Archdemon, and he'd lose the chance to be happy with Serena. He knew that he and Sereda were doomed from the start, that she had intended to make him king, in fact that's what made her fall so hard for her. Doomed love was better than no love at all; at least that's how he felt at the time. Thinking on it now he knew that doomed love was worse, that it hurt deeper than any cut, yet it burned hotter than the sun.

That was Sereda, she was a roaring blaze, burning everyone in her path, him especially. Serena was the warm glow of a hearth-fire, steady and slow. He loved her for that, how she can just glow, like everything in her life that tried to snuff her out had failed, and only made her stronger by trying. He loved her; he loved the life he had built here with her. And just like becoming king had hung over his and Sereda's heads, his impending death had loomed over him and Serena. He decided that tonight would be the night, that he would show her just how much she meant to him, and when morning came she would fall asleep in his arms, knowing that he was absolutely in love with her, always.

SERENA

When she walked into the house Flemeth was waiting for her, "Oh for fucks sake! Are you just going to poof in here every time I have a vision or are you just keeping us on our toes?! I'll warn you I'm cranky, so choose your words wisely, old woman."

Serena's patience had run out with the Witch since she set her PlayStation on fire three and a half months ago, and she was thoroughly done with all this 'mysterious old maleficar' bullshit.

Flemeth with her usual noncommittal tone and smokers voice responded, "Well if you'd give me a chance to speak then I can tell you why I'm here. The other Thedosian is drawing ever closer, she'll be here any moment."

"She?" Alistair asked with exasperation, "Can you cut the riddles and tell us whose coming?! We have a war to plan, and we can't go that if we are blindly searching for allies, going only on the smallest information you give us!"

Serena nodded her head in agreement; she was just about sick of this shit too. "Also, I'd like to know how I factor in to all this, you say I'm a tether between the two worlds. How? How am I connected to all this? The truth please, I'm not one who appreciates half-truths."

Pinning Flemeth with her gaze, she tried her best to convey a threatening glare, she knew it wouldn't work. Flemeth was far too old to fall for bluffing, but much to her surprise Flemeth relented saying, "How many times have you played Dragon Age?"

"Oh I don't know, I've played every origin. Both genders. Why?"

"And when you complete the game, what character do you always use to follow the game through to the end?"

"Oh, well I guess I only ever beat the game with the Dwarven Noble Rogue. Where are you going with this?" She was starting to get frightened.

Flemeth raised an eyebrow and smirked, "You've heard of the Somniari, I assume?"

Serena swallowed hard,"Yes, is that what I am? Am I a Dreamer?"

Her voice was starting to shake.

Flemeth nodded,"In a way yes you are. Except rather than just been able to manipulate The Fade, you can manipulate the thin barrier that exists between Earth and Thedas. You can seal it up, or tear it asunder; your visions are you seeing things from another person's eyes. You see the damage done from other perspectives. Tell me, what was your first vision?"

Serena's hands started to shake and she whispered, "I saw Sereda attack me."

"Are you sure? What about the vision you just saw?"

"I saw the Archdemon kill Alistair, so I attacked it. Wait so you're saying that the vision of Sereda attacking me, was a actually me looking through its eyes?" At this point Serena was on the edge of panic, until she felt Alistair's arms wrap around her from behind. She leaned into him as if he was the only thing keeping her sanity in check.

Flemeth nodded again. "Yes, your ability to see coming events through another's eyes can be an unbeatable advantage."

"But what about Alistair dying? I saw him die before killing the Archdemon. We lost the battle, how can we call it an advantage when the only Grey Warden here dies before it does?!" Serena screamed in frustration and Alistair gripped her tighter to keep her from scratching the Witch's eyes out.

"What makes you think he's the only Grey Warden?" A voice said from behind them.

Serena and Alistair whip around to find a figure leaning against the door frame, a hood covering her face.

Serena could feel Alistair tense up and her heart dropped when he whispered,"Sereda?"

The figure pulled back her cloak, and with a smile filled with venom she said, "Hello, Alistair."


	7. Chapter 7

Authors note: WARNING! Smut at the end of the chapter! If you don't like that sort of thing then please stop reading after the end Alistair's second POV section. Thanks again to Enchanm3nt, my wonderful beta! Enjoy!

ALISTAIR

He never thought he would see her again, and if he ever did that she would still be the same person. The Sereda in front of him was not the woman he loved any longer, this woman was dark and filled with hatred, the roaring fire she once was turned into a volcano, ready to erupt at a moment's notice. He noticed she still wore the blue and silver Grey Warden leather armor, though it was torn and bloody. Her once long ash brown hair that she'd kept in a neat bun was now a shaggy mess that brushed her chin. _What happened to you?_

She pushed off of the frame of the door and stalked towards them, circling Serena before spitting," So that's what you do in trade for my hard work, flee your responsibilities as a King and Grey Warden, to come to this world and start fucking my lookalike! Some honorable man you are, more like a piece of-"

"DON'T YOU TALK TO HIM LIKE THAT!" Serena shouted, flexing her hand after the solid punch she'd landed to Sereda's jaw.

Sereda pulled out a throwing knife and aimed for Serena's chest but she ducked out of the way and the knife stuck into the wall behind her. Serena used her advantage to swing a leg out to swipe Sereda's feet from under her, landing the female Warden on her back. Serena quickly jumped on the rogue's chest and used her knees to pin her shoulders down to keep Sereda from striking her.

Alistair wasn't sure if he should be afraid, angry or aroused.

He decided on angry and grabbed Serena by the waist with one arm, and when Sereda tried to get up and go after Serena again he grabbed the straps of the chest piece in her armor and lifted her above his head.

"ENOUGH!" Alistair shouted when the two women continued to swear and threaten each other, "Serena, I appreciate you jumping to my defense but Sereda doesn't know the whole story yet, I can understand her feeling betrayed."

He looked over to Sereda who was attempting to remove her chest plate to get free, "Sereda, I'm sorry that I hurt you, but you have to understand that coming here may have not been my choice, but I do not regret a single moment of my time here. You knew what waited for me after the Battle of Denerim, it was either death or going into a life that everyone knew I did not want, including you. I chose death for a reason Sereda. I chose death over living an unwanted life."

Sereda's anger seemed to fade a bit, and in her eyes he saw the woman he once loved. "So, what about us? Is seeing some lookalike tart all it takes for you to stray?!"

He looked over to Serena and saw that her anger was still bubbling under the surface, but looked calm enough to put down.

He set them both down and Serena circled Sereda, and he prepared to separate them again. "You know it's not I who looks like you, but the other way around. Technically speaking I created you. Isn't that right, Flemeth?"

"It is in part. She is your eyes through Thedas. She's what helps you keep both worlds safe. You can't be two places at once, so she is there to make sure that balance is maintained. When I sent Alistair here before the Archdemon truly died, it tore holes through the barrier. That is how the darkspawn are getting through. So it'll be up to the both of you. Sereda you know what happens when the last Theirin falls, so you know the sacrifice that must be made. Serena you are the only one who can close these tears. That is your duty, now I suggest you get some rest dear girl, I know you need it."

Serena nodded and walked out of the room.

SERENA

_Sereda's back, she's back and she's a bitch!_ She remembered playing through her and she always felt compelled to make the worst possible choices. "Did I do this to her?" She said to herself._ 'Did I make her this way?'_

ALISTAIR

"Ferelden is lost, so are Orlais and the Free Marches. The darkspawn laid waste to it all. After Denerim fell I went into hiding, I was nearly frozen to death when Flemeth found me, and she told me that she needed me to stop the Blight from coming here. She said that YOU needed me. How could I say no?"

Sereda's words hit him hard, she came because of him, and he was going to let her down. He made a choice when he charged at the Archdemon; he left Thedas and everyone in it behind. Including her. She had burned him too much, between killing Isolde to save Connor, murdering innocent Dalish, and sleeping with Zevran._ 'Yes she'll be shocked to know that I know that.' _He had seen how ruthless she could be, but he loved her anyway. Now his eyes were clear, and she was never going to be right for him, he loved Serena far deeper than he loved her. It would kill him to do it but after this meeting was through he had to tell her the truth.

"So Thedas is gone and Earth is on its way to being destroyed, we are the only two Grey Wardens left and this time we don't have any treaties to call upon, we have no power here," he said in defeat, he knew damn well that they'd have to get real lucky to get all the help that they needed.

Flemeth laughed while saying," Stupid boy! You've got more than you think you do! Expect a visitor tomorrow morning. He'll give you the army you seek. Now, to explain why Alistair cannot die. The information is...delicate, so I cast a sleep spell on Serena so we may speak plainly. What do you know of Calenhad?"

"Well, he united the Alamarri tribes to create Ferelden. He's also the first of the royal Theirin line," Alistair said with caution.

"What do you know of his Reaver powers?" Flemeth looked like the cat that ate the pigeon.

"Well he drank the blood of a Dragon and that's how it happened. Or so I've been told, what's this have to do wi- "

"So which dragon do you think he got it from?"

It finally clicked, "You! You made him a reaver? Why?"

"Because he needed to be strong enough to unite the tribes. Now, that isn't the point. If you hadn't guessed, I am not a Thedosian. I am from here; I escaped to Thedas during the Salem trials that killed my sisters. When I gave him my blood as a dragon, it made him and all his descendants' part of both worlds. Meaning, if the Theirin line falls so does all of creation."

"Oh, ok. So stay alive cause if I don't we're all gonna die. No pressure on me then. So you're just gonna leave this all up to Sereda and Serena then. It's basically up to the two of them since you're adamant that I not die. I mean I trust the both of them to do what needs to be done, but I'm supposed to be fighting too! I can't sit back and let them fight this all alone."

"I never asked you to, fool! I said you couldn't die, not that you couldn't fight. You just cannot be there when Sereda fights the Archdemon. If you are, it will seek you out, and you will die."

His anger grew and he all but shouted, "But that means I leave Sereda to die! What makes you think I would be ok with that?"

"It's alright, Alistair. I know what I have to do; I accepted that a long time ago. I'll slay that sodding dragon and save everyone's sorry asses like I was meant to. You know that's the-"

"I can't let you do this!"

"Who said I was giving you a choice in the matter?"

Alistair gave a sigh of defeat, he knew that once she'd set her mind to something, there was no talking Sereda out of it.

"Now that you know all that you need to, it's time for me to prepare. You'll see me again in good time, but until then be safe, and expect the worst. The Archdemon won't go down so easily the second time around."

And with that Flemeth vanished into a cloud of smoke, leaving Sereda and Alistair alone at last.

"We need to talk," he told Sereda matter of factly.

"You don't need to explain, Alistair. I know you must have been lonely here, but it's ok. I'm here now. We can use the time we have together, just like before."

"No."

If looks could kill, Sereda's glare would've ripped him apart. "No?!"

"I said no. You and I are through. We have been since the Landsmeet. You know that."

"Why, is she so important that you'll give up everything you had in Ferelden?! Your people need their king! I need-"

"I NEVER WANTED TO BE KING! You know that...you've always known that. Anora was doing just fine on her own and-"

"She betrayed us! Had us locked in Fort Drakon!"

"Yeah, where you gave Zevran a good hard fucking for breaking us out!"

The shocked look on her face told him all he needed to know.

"You claimed to love me but you've never asked my opinion on a damn thing! Not. One. Thing. You slept with Zevran and put me on the throne in the same move! I shared everything of myself with you! Only you! You couldn't even do the same for me... Look I don't want to fight with you. Just leave Serena alone, I love her. And you know I don't take kindly to threats on the ones I love."

Sereda's eyes had started welling with tears. "You know that everything I did was what was best for you! Sleeping with Zev was a mistake, I'm sorry I did it. Just please, please come back to me."

She moved to touch him but he shrugged her off. "No, you did what was best for YOU. Not for me. Get out."

"But Alistair I-"

"Get. Out."

Before she walked out the door she stopped, and without looking back she said, "I hope she's worth it. I really do."

SERENA

She had woken up in time to hear their argument, and her heart swelled with emotion, when the door opened she closed her eyes, feigning sleep so Alistair wouldn't know she was eavesdropping. He crawled into bed beside her, cuddling into her backside, going completely still when he realized she wasn't wearing any pants.

"You minx, why aren't you wearing pants, are you trying to kill me?"

She giggled and turned over to face him," No, I always sleep in my underwear. So how'd it go with Sereda?"

"I know you heard everything, Serena. We were kind of shouting at each other."

She kissed him softly, "Ah, yes I did hear. I love you, you know that don't you?"

He kissed her again, slowly. Stoking the fire that was already burning low in her belly. "Yes I do, and I love you. I think it's high time I proved it, too. "

He moved atop her, propping up on his elbows so he wouldn't crush her, then kissed her, that torturously slow kiss that made her knees weak and arousal flare. He began kissing and licking down her throat, making sure to linger at the spot where her neck and shoulder met, pressing sweet kisses and nips that made her cry out._ 'Lord he's got too many clothes on' _her hands traveled down his sides to the bottom of his shirt, lifting it and lightly scratching exposed skin as she went. He groaned into her neck and sat up to remove the offending article.

She admired the wide expanse of his chest, and the dusting of golden hair and freckles there, down his hard abdomen and the delicious happy trail that led down to his rock hard arousal. She sat up and licked him from the waistband of his jeans up to his chest, tongue swirling around his left nipple before gently biting down. He growled and yanked her shirt over her head, surprised to see she wasn't wearing a bra.

"Serena, but you are beautiful. I am a lucky man."

"What, no Makers Breath?" She breathed, her arousal soaring to new heights when he gently pushed her back on to the bed to better see her.

"The Maker has nothing to do with what I'm feeling right now."

He kissed her throat again slowly working down to her breasts he kissed her everywhere but her aching nipples, making her whimper in frustration. She went to grab his head and move it to her breast, but he grabbed both her hands with only one of his own and pinned them above her head.

"Patience, my love. Let me savor you." His voice was so thick with lust it made her shiver.

He moved his mouth away to gently blow his warn breath across her right nipple and she gasped, and when he did the same to the left she was losing her mind to the need she felt pooling between her thighs.

"Please, Alistair please!"

"Please what, my love?"

"Please touch me! I need you, now! Please!" She wrapped her legs around his hips, trying desperately to get some friction to her aching centre.

He ground himself against her and they both cried out at the pleasure of the friction. He finally swirled his tongue around her nipple and sucked it into his mouth, licking and nipping it with his teeth and making her moan his name in pleasure.

She shoved him up and started undoing the button on his jeans, when she was done she yanked his pants and his underwear down, freeing his erection and taking it in her hands.

"Serena!" He gasped, biting his lip at the feel of her hands on him.

"It's my turn to savor you, love." And with that she took him into her mouth.

"Aah, Serena please. I want...I want-"

She pulled away to ask him what he wanted but he quickly pushed her down onto the bed and pin her hands back above her head. With the fingers of his free hand he glided down her torso, finger circling each nipple before moving down her stomach. When he got to the waistband of her panties he lightly stroked her nether lips through the fabric, making her moan and push her hips up to his hand, aching for more of his touch. He slid his fingers through the leg of her underwear and tugged, gently pulling them down to her knees. He looked at her hairless sex and up at her, a question in his eyes.

"The hair bugs me, so I shave it off."

He nodded and smiled before placing a soft kiss to her outer lips, making her moan and writhe. He let go of her hands to place his on her stomach to keep her still, and delved his tongue into her folds, slowly working his tongue up before gently circling her clit and sucking it into his mouth.

"Alistair!" She sobbed from the pleasure, he licked and sucked her sex until he shuddered and cried out, her orgasm ripping through her.

She pulled him up and kissed him hard, tasting herself on his lips.

"Pants. Off. Now," she growled, and he chuckled before getting up to kick off his pants.

His cock stood thick and proud, begging to be touched. She grabbed her panties, yanking them off and throwing them across the room. He came back to the bed, grabbing the back of her head and pulling her in for another scorching kiss, leading her towards the head of the bed, laying her head down on the pillow.

She wrapped her legs around his hips, grabbing his erection and guiding him to her entrance. He slowly pushed into her and they both groaned at the sensation. When he was finally sheathed inside her, he moved in long, deep strokes, making her writhe beneath him calling his name as she raked her nails down his back.

She was close, oh so close. The fire inside her rising higher and higher, but he kept her just on the edge with his slow, deliberate strokes.

"Faster, my love. Harder. Faster. Please!" she begged him, wrapping her legs tighter around him to push him deeper.

He obliged her happily, and began pounding into her hard and fast, hitting that spot inside her that made her whole body sing.

"Serena, fuck. Serena I'm so close, Serena!" He grabbed her leg and placed it on his shoulder, pounding into her faster and harder still.

Then his thumb found her clit and her body exploded into a storm of sensations, stars flew through her eyes as she climaxed, screaming Alistair's name as her muscles clenched around him. He came soon after with her name on his lips, his seed spurting inside her, marking her as his.

When they had finished he rolled on to his back beside her, gathering her into his arms, laying her head on his chest.

"I love you, Serena," he said as he drifted off to sleep.

"And I love you, Alistair."

She fell asleep sated, his heartbeat there to lull her to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

ALISTAIR

He awoke feeling like he was floating on air. He looked down at Serena sleeping on his chest, snoring softly. The previous night was better than he could have ever dreamed it would be; and if he'd had his way he'd have stayed there in bed with her all day, but darkspawn wait for no one and they were no exception.

He gently ran his fingers up her side whispering," Serena, sweetheart. It's time to wake up."

She snuggled deeper into his side and groaned, "Never. I'm never waking up. You can't make me!"

_Challenge accepted_. His fingers began tickling her side, making her squeal and flail about, begging him to stop.

"You ready to get out of bed now?" he asked while wiggling his fingers in mock warning.

"I hate you," she mumbled, giving him a kiss before getting out of bed.

"Oh no you don't, you love me. Now what would you like to do until this mystery person Flemeth sent us shows up?"

"Oh, I thought we could take a shower."

He felt himself getting aroused at the thought of her soaking wet and naked. "Like together?"

She laughed, "Yes, together. Why wouldn't we?"

He picked her up bridal style and walked towards the bathroom. "I haven't the vaguest idea why we shouldn't."

oOo

He couldn't get enough of her. After the third go she'd finally said she'd had enough and complained that now they'd have to shower in the cold water. He couldn't care less how cold the water was, as long as she would shower with him forever. When he'd offered to make breakfast she strongly declined, apparently she knew about his dismal cooking skills.

He'd gotten dressed in the training uniform Carmine had given him, since they were off to more weapons training after their meeting with the mystery man Flemeth had sent. It was a simple black cotton t-shirt and grey utility pants, paired with black boots and a grey jacket. It was warm out that day so he left the jacket in the closet, and walked out to the kitchen.

"Has anyone ever told you how sexy you look dressed like that?" Serena said while sipping her coffee

"No, you'd be the first. Thank you though, I love you," he beamed, before giving her a kiss and going to pour himself some coffee.

"I love you too, now do you know when this guy is supposed to-"

The doorbell rang, and when he opened the door two men in black suits push past him. "What the-"

"All clear, sir, you can come in." One of the black suited men said into a radio.

When Alistair saw who was in the doorway, he was in awe. "M-Mr. President!"

SERENA

She knew she should've taught him how to react to seeing famous or powerful people. She was just as shocked as he was to find the President of the United States at her doorstep, but at least she didn't kneel before him.

"Mr. President, what an honor to meet you, sir. I've read all about you on the internet and I-I just think you're fantastic!" Alistair said excitedly, still knelt down in front of the very confused Commander in Chief.

Serena scrambled over to get Alistair on to his feet, "Sorry about that Mr. President. He's, uhm... new here."

"It's quite alright. May I come in?"

She pulled Alistair away from the door and politely motioned the President inside. _Jesus Christ, Alistair! _He seemed to have developed a serious case of hero worship. _I'd call it fan girling, but I would hate to hurt his manly pride._

"So I was visited by an old woman last night, she somehow managed to get into the Oval Office without being seen. She tells me that our world is in great danger, and that you two know how to stop it. Care to elaborate on that?"

Serena was struck dumb. She knew that Flemeth would bring someone with an army; she just didn't think it was the fucking President! "Uh...would you like some coffee?"

"I'll get it for you Mr. President!" Alistair shouted enthusiastically before bolting to the kitchen.

"Thank you, mind if I sit down?"

"Oh not at all! Please do."

Serena had just sat down next to the President on the couch when Alistair walked in, five small cups of coffee and creamer in his hands, each handle wrapped by one of his fingers. Both she and the President were astonished,

"How on Earth can you do that? You haven't spilled a single drop!"

Alistair flushed. "Oh I learned that in the Grey Wardens. When I was the junior member I was the one to fetch all the ale. I taught myself how so I could save on trips to the bar."

The President burst into laughter, "Oh, now that reminds me of college!" His expression turned sober. "Now I've done some looking into what's been happening, and these darkspawn. You're Grey Wardens. You're all supposed to be fictional characters from a video game, how can you be real? Bioware has no explanation as to why it's happening, and they've been getting complaints about their games."

Serena looked at the President, who seemed to be just as scared and baffled as any normal person would be, Not me though! I took crazy and made it my bitch. "Alright, Mr. President, what complaints are Bioware having about their games?" Not that it really matters...

"Things are missing from the game."

"What things are they missing?" Alistair piped up.

The president pulled up something on his phone and read off, "The character Isabela from Dragon Age 2 is missing, the character Alistair Theirin is missing from Origins." No shit, Sherlock. "The character Flemeth is missing, the female Dwarven Noble Origin is gone, Morrigan is miss-"

"Did you just say Morrigan?" Alistair groaned. _Right there with ya buddy._

"Yes," the President replied curtly. "Darkspawn are missing and the Archdemon is missing."

"Shit," Serena whispered. "So Morrigan is here too? Fantastic, I thought Flemeth was the only crazy witch we'd have to deal with."

"Do not talk about me as if I am not here girl." Flemeth's voice sent Serena jumping off the couch.

The Secret Service men pulled out their pistols, aiming at Flemeth, with a wave of her hand the guns turned to dust.

"Jesus, can't you just use the front door like a normal fucking person!" Serena shrieked.

"Now why would I do that when scaring the day lights out of you is much more entertaining!"

"Oh good the creepy witch has a sense of humor!" Serena sniped.

"Your sarcasm does you no credit."

Serena looked to Alistair and they both burst out laughing.

"Mind if I ask what is so damn funny? I'm starting to feel as if you two aren't right for the job," the President stated in a displeased tone.

"Sorry that just reminded us of something that another-I'll just shut up now," Alistair said, his voice becoming very serious. "Let's get back to the task at hand."

"Yes, let's. You want me to give you control of all the military I have stationed here, as well as my Coast Guard… I expect that you two will be the ones to bring this Archdemon down?"

"Yes, was it spotted?" Serena asked.

"Yes, Satellites saw what looked to be a dragon flying over Alaska this morning."

"Shit, it's moving fast," Alistair muttered.

"Indeed. I need capable people to handle this and soon; are you absolutely positive you can take this thing down?" The president all but shouted, his frustration with the Blight and the ridiculous people he'd been told could help.

"Sir, Grey Wardens are the only ones who can kill an Archdemon, if a regular soldier kills it, its soul just possesses the nearest darkspawn and the Blight continues. Including myself there are two Grey Wardens here, and I am telling you that if you don't make sure we are in this fight, the planet is forfeit." Alistair's voice had taken on a commanding tone. God that's hot.

"I'm still not entirely convinced that I should put the lives of millions of American Citizens in your hands!"

"We should expect the Archdemon in four months' time. He will stay in hiding until the horde is in Washington D.C." Flemeth produced a parchment from a pouch at her belt and handed it to the President.

"What is this?" he questioned, taking the scroll.

"It's a promise, a promise made long ago by one of your ancestors. I saved his life and in return he swore that when I was in need of aid, either he or his descendants will answer the call."

"This is signed by Jefferson Davis, how were you able-"

"Listen, she's very, very old, very, very powerful, and not very patient. If that scroll says you gotta help, I suggest you do it," Serena said impatiently. _His damn country is at stake, it shouldn't take_ _calling in a centuries old favour for him to act._

"Alright, alright. I see your point. Serena, Alistair, you will have your army. I certainly hope you succeed, a lot of good people have died already because of this, don't let their sacrifice be in vain." With that the President of the United States and his merry band of bodyguards left the apartment.

"Nice work with the scroll, so did you really save Jefferson Davis' life?" Serena asked.

"Of course I did, bloody moron got himself mauled by a bear. I found him, healed his injuries and when he offered payment, I asked for this instead. I always knew it would come to be useful." Flemeth disappeared with a cackle and a puff of smoke, leaving Serena alone with Alistair at long last.

"So we did it!" she exclaimed, while wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Technically, Flemeth did it, but I'll let you have this one," he chuckled.

"You better. Now grab your stuff, we have weapons training in an hour!" Serena ran to their bedroom to lace on her boots, and then when Alistair was all ready to go, they headed out. Ready to learn how to blow shit up!'

ALISTAIR

"Ow! My whole body hurts! I thought we were gonna learn about grenade launchers, not see how many times my five foot two girlfriend can knock me on my ass!" He groaned and tried to rub the soreness out of his lower back.

"Aw, baby don't be that way. We were just trying to teach you better hand-to-hand. We don't have swords and shields here, if you run out of ammo I want you to be able to defend yourself, " Serena said as she sat behind him on the bed and moved his hands away, replacing them with her own.

"Oh, that feels amazing! I know you want me to defend myself, sweetheart. My egos just bruised along with the rest of me." He turned his head to kiss her softly on the lips as her hands moved up to rub his shoulders.

"Well your ego will heal, along with the rest of you." She leaned forward to kiss his temple.

"So, Flemeth managed to not only get the President's attention, but also convinced him to give us his armies."

"If by 'convinced' you mean 'forced' then yes, yes she did."

"How does she end up with all these people owing her so many favors?" he asked, genuinely confused as to how such a brash woman was able to get anything from anyone.

"Well when you're as old as she is, you bump into people I guess. Only I think she intends to bump into people, that's sort of how she works."

"Yeah I always got the feeling she knew who I was, never figured out how though."

"Well, she did meet your father..."

"She did? When?"

"During the Orlesian occupation. She told him a Blight would come, but not in his lifetime and that Loghain would betray him, each time worse than the last."

"Good thing I killed him then."

"Loghain was a troubled man born in the fires of war, love. A war that took so much from him. That kind of trauma never leaves a person. No matter how hard they try. Did you know he and Rowan were lovers?"

"No, I didn't know that. Still, gives him no excuse for Ostagar, or the Alienage, or letting Howe run loose!" His voice was laced with anger.

"I never said what he did was right, I just know that his paranoia had reached its limit. By the time anyone knew he's gone insane it was too late."

He mulled her words over for a bit, "Do you think he could have been helped if he had come here?"

"I think if he had come here he would've had a chance to overcome the horrors he went through during and after the war. The way society handles mental illness here is a whole lot different from Thedas. People who suffer here are treated with respect and they're listened to."

He'd hated Loghain up until that point, but Serena put things into perspective for him. Loghain wasn't a power hungry villain bent on destroying the Grey Wardens, he was a war torn man who'd been blinded by his own madness. A man who helped Ferelden gain its independence, who gave up the woman he loved for his best friend. Yet when Loghain knew he was going to die he accepted it, embraced it even. Loghain had died with honor, something Alistair didn't see until then.

"Serena, how is it you can turn a man I once hated into someone worthy of respect?"

"It's easy to see all sides when you don't have a stake in any of them." She chuckled.

"I guess you're right about that, well we should probably get some sleep. We have to head to Seattle tomorrow to meet with Isabela for travel arrangements to D.C." He laid her down on the bed and curled up beside her, spooning into her back.

"Well there was something I wanted to do first!" Serena pouted.

"What's that, my love?"

She wiggled her backside against his crotch and sighed; he rolled on to his back, pulling her on top of him, more than happy to oblige her.

Authors Note: Thank you to all who have read, reviewed, favorited and followed! I love reading how much you all like the story and it makes me smile. :) Special thanks to Enchantm3nt whose been my amazing beta. Seriously if it weren't for her my paragraphs and dialogue would be all kinds of messed up. Lol so we've met the President and Morrigan is missing from the game...hmmmm wherever could she be? ;)


	9. Chapter 9

Authors note: Smut warning ahead! Many thanks to my beta reader Enchantm3nt whose not only been my beta but also has helped give me awesome ideas!

SERENA

The drive to Seattle was murder as usual; the freeway clogged with a line of morons that started just outside the city. After two hours of countless middle fingers aimed at drivers who had tried to cut them off, and one incident in which Alistair had talked Serena down from getting out of her car to go slap a driver who'd nearly hit them trying to switch lanes, they had finally reached the address Isabela had emailed them.

"Why does nobody in this fucking state know how to fucking drive?" She kicked her tire in frustration.

Alistair laughed and she shot him a glare that stopped him dead. "Hey! Don't glare at me! I'm not responsible for other people's driving habits."

She sighed. "I know, it's just that stupid people make me so angry."

"I understand sweetheart, I'm sorry." He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you. Now, we're going up to the twentieth floor, apartment 13." She took out her cell phone to make sure she had everything correct.

"Alright, let's go!" He grabbed her hand and led her through the turn doors, which he'd mentioned he wanted to spin around in on the way out. Men.

When they got to the elevator she saw Alistair's eyes light up. "Can I push the button? Pleeeeaaaase?"

"Really?" She had to giggle at his enthusiasm.

"Yes! When you told me about these I was a bit freaked out at first, but how that I've see one it looks like fun!"

"Alright, you can press the button." The elevator door opened and when they got in Alistair hurried to press the button to the floor they needed.

His excitement died out on the tenth floor, looking disappointed at the fact the elevators didn't do anything more exciting than lift you up and down.

When they got out of the elevator Alistair frowned. "That wasn't as fun as I thought it'd be. I hoped it'd be faster, like that hammer thingy you took me on when we went to that thing for your sister, what was it?"

"It was railroad days. And yeah, sorry it doesn't go very fast, but it was quicker than the stairs."

"Yeah, I guess. Well, here we are, apartment thirteen." He rang the doorbell.

After ringing it twice more Isabela opened the door. "Hello, kittens. Come on in. Coffee's brewing already. Go ahead and have a seat on the sofa and I'll be there in a bit."

The place was immaculate! The living room was bigger than Serena's entire apartment! A large set of windows overlooking the Seattle skyline lit the whole room, and down two small steps there was a long mahogany coffee table with two white suede sofas on either side were placed in the center of the room. The kitchen was to the left, dark granite counters and dark cherry cabinetry pairing with stainless steel appliances and a gas stove oven.

"Alistair?" Serena whispered.

"Yes darling?"

"I need you to knock out Isabela so I can take her condo."

He looked at her incredulously. "You're not serious."

"I genuinely don't know."

He gave her the all to classic '_You've got to be kidding me'_ look and she shrugged, sitting down on one of the far-too comfortable to be legal sofas.

Isabela returned with a tray of coffee, various types of creams and sugars and a plate of cinnamon buns.

"So how did you come to get this place?" Serena asked. "I mean it's beautiful! It must have cost a fortune…but you have no way to get the identification you'd need for it," Serena added while mixing some creamer into her coffee.

"I have a friend who's good with getting those kinds of things. Even gave me an entire childhood, school transcripts and all. As far as anyone here is concerned I was born in London and became a citizen of the U.S. six years ago."

"Huh, do you think you could contact your friend for Alistair? I worry about what might happen if he's in trouble and there's no way for anyone to identify him."

"Sure, I'll see what I can do. Now to business." Isabela grabbed her tablet off of the coffee table and started working.

"So, the Archdemon will be in Washington DC along with the horde in four months. I was thinking we'd better get there early enough to be able to evacuate the city and form a plan of attack," Alistair mentioned before snatching a cinnamon bun.

"I'm ten steps ahead of you, I've already got our flight and hotel booked. We leave in a week and a half. Carmine and his men will be meeting us there the week after, then we meet with all the head honchos from the different military branches to work out our strategy."

"Wait, you're coming too?" Serena was surprised, she knew Isabela would assist but never expected her to fight.

"Course I am, you goose. I said I would help and I don't do things in half measures."

"Thank you, you've been such a big help and we couldn't have done it without you."

"Yeah well as shallow as I may seem, I hate seeing innocents being killed. Plus, I'm itching to use my daggers again."

"You're not gonna use a gun?" Alistair asked with a touch of envy.

"Oh I will, but if any of those buggers get too close to me, ole Backstabber and Heartbreaker are gonna have some fun," she said with a wink.

"I'm glad you'll be coming with us, Bela. Now we just need to track down Sereda and get her on the plane too."

"Already taken care of. She's going to go by train. Said something like, "No fucking way am I going to shoot through that sky in a metal tube."

Serena burst into laughter, "So she'll be here with Carmine's men then?"

"Yeah I'm booking them on the same train and giving them a photo of the other so they can get acquainted."

Serena was very pleased with how all of this was turning out, they'd had gotten all the help they needed and then some, and Sereda hadn't fled back to Thedas after her conversation with Alistair. _This is usually the part where something bad happens._

"So… Morrigan is missing from the game," Alistair commented.

"You mean the half-naked Mage with the attitude problem?"

"Yeah, one and the same. Have you heard anything about her recently?" Serena asked, hoping that maybe the witch just crawled in a hole and died somewhere_. If she is here, I know exactly what she's planning. Bitch._

"No, not yet anyway. I'll keep an ear to the ground though. If I hear something I'll let you know."

"Thank you." Alistair mumbled, mouth full of his third cinnamon bun.

They had made small talk for another hour before Isabela printed out their flight and hotel information and hurried them out the door so she could get ready to meet with Carmine to discuss the travel plans for him and his men.

ALISTAIR

Serena was quiet the entire drive home, looking as if she was thinking about something. "Copper for your thoughts?"

"Penny."

He blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Here it's penny for your thoughts, and I was thinking about Morrigan being here."

"Ah, what about Morrigan being here?"

Serena looked pensive. "Well, if she's here, I think she's going to do something I don't really agree with, especially now since I have more of a personal stake in it."

"What's that?" He was starting to worry. W_hat could be so bad that she won't tell me outright?_

"It's a ritual, performed on the eve of the battle with the Archdemon. It's a way for all of the Grey Wardens to survive; if this ritual is performed then Sereda won't die when she takes the final blow."

"Okaaaay," he said, watching her curiously. "What's the catch?"

She sighed. "You would have to sleep with Morrigan." He nearly choked at her words. "When the Archdemon dies, instead of its soul destroying the Grey Warden it will seek out the foetus, creating a child that will be born with the soul of an Old God. It would be untainted and Morrigan would raise it as her own. Beyond that, I know little else, and the whole thing bothers me on so many levels."

"Because I'd be sleeping with someone else?" he asked, only half-joking. The idea of having sex with Morrigan made his skin crawl.

"No-I mean yes, but also this could come back to bite us in the ass. We could possibly be putting both worlds in danger all over again if Morrigan decided to use the child to try and take over. I don't want you or Sereda to die, but I'm thinking of the long term. Fuck, this was so much easier when it was the game!"

She put her head against the steering wheel and he reached over to rub her back.

"Well, if it means that neither Sereda and I have to die, I'll do it. I'll not have anyone sacrifice themselves for me. Especially when there's something I can do about it."

He realized when she glared at him that he might've said something wrong.

"So you'd really sleep with Morrigan to save Sereda's life, even if there is a huge possibility that we'd have to fight an Old God in the future? An Old God who just so happens to be your _child_?" Now she was shaking with anger. _Way to go, Alistair. You pissed her off!_

"No, I'm not saying I like the idea of sleeping with Morrigan. I'm just saying that I'd like for Sereda to not have to give her life to save me. Why is that so hard to understand?"

"You're not doing the ritual, there's more at stake than just one person!"

_Is she really trying to take this decision away from me? Isn't that what Sereda had done by forcing me to be king?_

She made a good point, but it was his choice on whether he wanted to go through with it or not. It would be him taking part in the ritual, not her!

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that I didn't have a say in this! You know what, just forget it!" He got out and slammed the car door, hearing Serena calling his name as he walked away.

He came upon a river and sat down at its bank, tossing stones into its churning depths. He was angry, No, more than angry. Infuriated.

He was also deeply hurt by Serena trying to make decisions for him, like his opinion didn't matter. _Just like Sereda._

His mind raced at all the things Sereda had done to him, the choices she made on his behalf. She killed Isolde with blood magic to save Connor's life. How could she have done that? Certainly, Isolde held a lot of the responsibility for what happened, but sacrificing her should not have been her punishment! When they finally cured Eamon he woke up searching for his wife, and you could hear his cries of anguish throughout the castle. _"We should've gone to the Circle!"_ He'd shouted at the forest, as he had dug his nails into the dirt beneath him.

It was the first of many things that Sereda had done without even discussing it with him first. He had wanted to find a way to compromise between the Werewolves and the Dalish, but when Sereda learned of Zathrian's part in the curse, she had turned and slaughtered all the elves, demanding the werewolves fight the Blight with them. He still got nauseous when he thought about what she did to those poor people.

After the escape from Fort Drakon he'd decided to surprise Sereda with a tray of food and wine, complete with roses and a beautiful ruby necklace he'd found at the market a week prior. When he went to the door he heard what sounded like whimpers, he'd thought maybe she was shaken up by being imprisoned but when he'd turned to leave, he'd heard a man groan. He opened the door slightly to find Sereda on her hands and knees on the floor, Zevran pounding into her from behind. He'd fled the hallway in tears, heart shattering with every step back to his room.

Then when she made him king he'd had enough. He loved her deeply but he was tired of being left out of everything, he had little say in anything to do with the Grey Wardens and even less regarding the throne. He'd ended it; saying that Ferelden wouldn't accept a dwarven queen, which wasn't exactly a lie, but if he as king decided he wanted to marry a dwarf who'd end up becoming the Hero of Ferelden the people would have accepted it, albeit reluctantly so. _No, I just wanted her gone._

Sereda came to him in Redcliffe Castle, and against his better judgement he laid with her, thinking to himself that he was a fool, that she'd only used him for her own gains. He threw her out afterwards, drowning his sorrows in brandy until the sun rose and it was time to march.

But Serena and Sereda were two different women; Serena was kind and thoughtful, aside from today she'd always asked his opinion in everything, even what to make for dinner! Sereda was hard and unyielding, forcing everyone to comply or get out of her way. Serena would never do any of the things Sereda did, she could never even think of it.

He thought about what Serena had said, about the possibility of the child rising up to attack both worlds. Could he kill his own flesh and blood to save the world? Or would he sacrifice the planet to protect his child?

That's when it dawned on him that this was the exact point she was trying to make to him before! She didn't want him to have to choosing between saving the world and saving his child. _That beautiful woman tries to protect me and I stormed off like a child_! He mentally kicked himself, feeling like a fool for leaving her behind, swearing that he'd make it up to her. He noticed the sky had gotten dark and he shot up, running as fast as he could back to Serena's apartment. Back home.

SERENA

Four hours had passed and Alistair still hadn't returned. She'd called everyone she knew in town asking if they'd seen him, and not one person had! She was worried sick and felt terribly guilty for trying to make the decision for him, but she was trying to think of the future.

_I should've handled that better. Damn it._

All she wanted for him to be safe, and as selfish as it seemed, she didn't give a damn if Sereda died, as long as Alistair stayed safe. She didn't want him to have to possibly kill his own child, to live with that choice for the rest of his life. She didn't want him to die either; she wasn't ready to let him go yet...

_And I never will be..._

He understood her completely, never once blamed her for her dad, never called her crazy, and he made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. He wanted her, needed her, loved her. And her actions may have just pushed him away from her forever.

When he finally walked in the door she ran straight to his arms, tears in her eyes. "I was so worried about you! I'm so sorry for the things I said, I was angry and scared. I'm so sorry! Where were you? Have you been running?"

"Hey shhhhh, it's alright. I'm sorry too, I should've heard what you were trying to say rather than get worked up about it. I was walking down by the river. It helped me clear my head. I ran back as soon as I realized something,"

"Realized what?"

He pulled her close and kissed her hard, her worried sobs turning into moans of pleasure.

He pushed her up against the wall, practically ripping her clothes off before taking off his own and wrapping her legs around his waist, his cock teasing her entrance.

In one thrust he was sheathed inside her, both of them crying out from the sensation. He pounded into her relentlessly, one hand gripping her ass for leverage; the other was flat against the wall to keep himself steady.

She came first, her climax setting her nerves on fire, her muscles clamping down on him, bringing him to his own release.

After they regained control of their breathing he set her down on shaky legs, lifting her chin up to make her look him in the eyes. "I love you, no matter what happens. I need you to remember that no matter what choice I make that I'm making it because I love you. Alright?"

She nodded, giving him a soft smile. "I love you, too. I'm so sorry."

"Hey, no more of that. It's done with, and you are forgiven."

"No. I need to explain, please."

He nodded and she continued, "If you go through with the ritual, and Morrigan comes back to try and use that child; your child, to harm innocent lives, how would that make you feel. Alistair? I know you. I know that you would do what needed to be done to save innocent lives, but what if you had to kill your own child to do so? I don't want you to ever be in the position to do that. I know I should've said that before, but I was just so angry! Angry at myself mainly, it was incredibly selfish of me to try to tell you what to do. I'm sorry for that, I just want to keep you safe, and I couldn't let you go do the ritual without at least knowing why I feel the way I do about it. I love you."

He was silent for a moment, looking as if he were considering her words carefully before replying, "I love you too, and I understand why you did it. Being at the river, outside, it gave me a chance to clear my head. I know that if I had to, if this ritual baby became a threat to our worlds, that I'd destroy it. I would because there is more at stake than my feelings, but I would spend every day of my life asking myself, 'What if?' I would tear myself apart over it, knowing I had brought this on myself, knowing I could've refused and left it alone. I don't want Sereda to die for me, love. That's why I'm taking this so seriously, because either way someone dies. Now I have to choose who. Do you understand?"

She nodded and kissed his cheek, making him smile, "Why are you so good to me? I was so harsh to you before; yet you're still here, forgiving me, loving me. I don't deserve it."

He kissed her forehead, "I love you, that's why. Of course you deserve it! Do I need to sing you the song? Because you know I will."

"Which song?"

"The song we danced to at Isabela's club."

_Good lord, yes! Sing!_

Despite what Alistair thought he had a wonderful singing voice, deep and smoky. It made her skin tingle. She threw a hand to her forehead dramatically, "No please! Anything but that!"

He chuckled. "I bet you never ever felt so good, so good. He kissed her neck.

_Oooh that tingles!_ She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Got your body trembling, like it should." She shivered in delight.

"You'll never be the same, baby. Once I'm done with you."

She stood on her toes; kissed him softly, taking him by the hand to lead him into their bedroom. _We have a lot more making up to do._


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Alistair was petrified. They were on their way to the airport to fly to Washington DC, and he was absolutely terrified. _What if the plane goes down? I don't wanna die in a bloody metal bird!_ When they arrived he was on the edge of panic, praying that their flight was cancelled or delayed so that he wouldn't have to fly.

"I don't want to fly," he whined. "Why couldn't we take the train with Sereda and Carmine?"

Serena sighed, "Because we are the ones leading this whole thing, love. Just relax, I promise you're making it out to be worse than it is. Just relax."

Alistair grimaced at the doors to the airport. "Easy for you to say, you've done this before!"

"Only twice. Just trust me, please? It'll be fun." She gave him the smile she saved only for him, the one that shows her perfectly imperfect teeth.

"Oh alright," he relented. "But if we die, I'm gonna kill you."

"I'll hold you to that, love," she laughed. "There's Isabela!"

He looked over to see Isabela at the baggage check, cell phone to her ear and tablet in her hand.

"No, I said I wanted both suites! Not just the one. You said I could book both when I called last week! Ugh, just get me both suites or I swear on all that is-oh, hey you two, go on and check your bags, I'm working out an issue with the hotel, -no, I'm talking to the people who are going to be saving your sorry ass here in a couple of months! Get them that damn suite!" Isabela walked past them with an absent wave, completely absorbed in her tablet.

After they got their bags checked, they went to the bar where Isabela was waiting for them. Alistair went to order himself a beer when Isabela stopped him. "No way, sailor. This is your first time flying; we don't need you getting sick on the plane."

"Why on earth would I get sick on a plane?"

"Anxiety, you goose. Now take this, it should help you relax without making your tummy go funny. I had to take them the first few times I flew."

She handed him a pill with a glass of water; he swallowed the pill gratefully, glad to know that someone else had been in his shoes once. When the loud speaker announced their flight would be boarding soon, he started to panic. Then Serena gave him a reassuring smile and he relaxed, walking through the terminal holding her hand.

SERENA

Alistair had handled the flight better than she'd thought, though most of it had to do with that pill Isabela had given him. He'd fallen asleep as soon as they were in the air.

She and Isabela had gossiped and giggled throughout the flight, scandalizing two unwary passengers when Isabela explained what those six things were that women were good for. Isabela had tried to pry out the details of Serena and Alistair's sex life, but was met with coy smiles and vague remarks.

They had little trouble at the hotel, Isabela's patented blend of tits, ass and a threat or two had gotten them the extra suite. When Serena opened the door, she noticed that the room was very spacious, complete with a desk and couches so they wouldn't be sitting on their bed to get any work done or watch TV. The bed was large, at least a king size, with big fluffy white pillows and a rich brown, blue and gold patterned comforter.

Serena set her bags down on the couch and flopped onto the bed, relishing in the softness of the mattress. "Ooooh, I could die here. When this is all over, we are so getting a new mattress!"

Alistair set his bags next to hers and joined her on the bed, pulling her close. "Wow, you're right. This is nice." He paused. "So, we have that meeting with the President and his generals, right?"

"Yep, we head to the White House tomorrow, why?"

"I guess I'm nervous. I mean I know we've been trained the best we could be, under the circumstances, but these men have been training for decades! What if they don't take us seriously because of it?"

Serena pondered that for a bit, knowing that there was a chance that he'd be right and they'd just write them off as morons. Yet another part of her knew that they were clueless about what they were facing and Serena and Alistair had the knowledge that the generals didn't have.

She knew they would do just fine, "Alistair, these people are scared. Genuinely frightened; they have no idea what they're facing, and since we are the only ones with those answers, they will listen."

"I suppose so; I guess it's just nerves. I can't believe I'm back to being one of the last Grey Wardens again. Only this time it's just two of us on the entire planet! Not just in one country. It's a bit…overwhelming."

She understood his point, but also knew he needed to relax. _I know something to help with that…Mmm._ "Alistair?"

"Yes, love?"

"Let's break in the bed," she whispered, voice filled with want.

He flipped on top of her, whispering before trapping her lips in a kiss, "your desire is my command."

ALISTAIR

It was three in the morning when Alistair woke with a start. He sensed darkspawn, a lot of them. He shook Serena awake and jumped out of bed, grabbing his uniform and throwing it on.

"Alistair, what's going on?"

"Darkspawn are headed into the city, call Carmine and tell him to gather his men and Sereda. We'll grab Isabela on our way out."

He saw her leap from the blankets and ran straight to her bags; she was yanking on her boots when she called Carmine, placing him on speaker phone.

"Get everyone up and ready, we got darkspawn in the city."

"Understood, which way they comin' from?"

Alistair, in the most authoritative voice he could muster replied, "They're coming from the west, like we figured they would. I need you to prepare everything we got, RPGs, tanks, all of it. We'll also need someone in the air to see if the Archdemon shows up, I haven't sensed it but that doesn't mean it's not here."

"Already on it, where are we meeting?"

"DuPont Circle. We'll get Isabela on with The President to issue a lock down on the city and the Circle cleared. From there we march west, and we push as many of those bastards back as we can until the army can come in and fortify the city."

"Yes, sir! We'll meet you at DuPont Circle in one hour."

"Thank you, Carmine."

Alistair could feel the adrenaline course through his veins, the steady buzzing in his head signalling that the darkspawn were drawing ever closer to the city. With the woman he loved beside him; reminding him what he was fighting for, he left to retrieve Isabela and head off to battle.

While Alistair, Sereda, and Carmine stayed on the ground readying the men for battling the darkspawn, Serena and Isabela were flying overhead, searching the skies for signs of the Archdemon. News vans had pulled up behind Carmine's trucks, and reporters and cameramen poured out of them, headed straight for Alistair.

"Oh, shit!" he groaned before he was swarmed by reporters, all asking for a statement.

Carmine stepped between Alistair and the inquisitive mob bellowing, "ENOUGH! Now if you all would like to know what is happening, please turn on your cameras to live feed and step back! Alistair will make a speech, then you will all leave and head for safety!" _Wait, I didn't want to make a speech!_

"Hold on! I never said I'd speak to them!"

"Well sir, it's either this, or they put themselves in harm's way to get a shot of the darkspawn. Which would you prefer?"

"Damnit it all!" He'd been ambushed, either give them what they want and keep them alive or risk their lives to keep Warden secrets that anyone who'd picked up the game already knew. _Well shit. _He heaved a frustrated sigh. "Alright, gather all your people up too, they'll need to hear this."

He stood up on the bed of a truck, cameras and soldiers awaiting his next words. _Thought I was done doing this shit... Ah well. Geronimo! _He took a deep breath, and in the best authoritative voice he could muster, he spoke.

"Now I know that none of you know exactly what is happening or why. Monsters from a video game are attacking this country, leaving a trail of blood and evil as they march on your Capital. My name is Alistair Marcus Theirin; I am a Grey Warden of Ferelden. To my right is my friend and fellow Grey Warden, Sereda Illysa Aeducan of Orzammar. Together we can, and will, end this Blight!"

When he was met with silence he felt exposed. _Ok...new game plan._

"Our worlds are connected by a thin barrier. So thin in fact, that there are tears in that barrier that allow us to cross over between the two. That's how the darkspawn got here."

A reporter piped up, "How do we know that you're not just some jumped up cosplayer trying a hand at being a hero?"

Alistair, struck dumb by the man's words, stood baffled. _Oh you listen here you little shit!_

"Alright answer me this then. How is it I would know that darkspawn are coming here before anyone else?"

The buzzing in his head got louder, almost to the point of roaring. "Listen, we don't have much time, I can't tell you everything but I can tell you this: if you cannot fire a gun or if you have children, who need you, stay in your homes. If you can fight, I ask you to speak to Carmine O'Donnell at the Joint Base Myers-Henderson Hall in the morning. We can beat this, we can fight it, and we will win. These darkspawn are evil, they are relentless and cruel, but like any other creature, they can be killed!"

He heard the familiar snarls and gurgled laughs of the darkspawn about one hundred feet down the stretch of road; he quickly pulled out his gun and boomed, "THEY'RE HERE! Civilians get to safety now! The rest of you, weapons ready! We've got to push them back as far as we can so the army can build up their defenses around the city. This spot's last; let's make sure they don't break through our line!"

He saw some men and women frozen with terror so he turned to face the road and he spoke with one final roar, "FOR AMERICA! FOR EARTH!"

That seemed to get the soldiers blood pumping just in time for the darkspawn to come into sight.

The creatures themselves had only gotten more disgusting since he'd seen them last, their flesh taking on a greenish purple hue rather than the usual reddish hue. His stomach threatened to evacuate its contents when he saw that most where wearing the clothes of this world, some of them even looking like they may have been children...he pushed his guilt down and replaced it with rage, his Berserker nature rising to the surface. He growled out, "Ready!"

He heard guns cocking and tanks engines flaring, "Aim!" The Darkspawn were nearly twenty feet away now, the smell of death and taint hitting his nostrils, making his anger flare all the more.

He lifted his weapon up and aimed at the head of a hurlock alpha before screaming, "FIRE!"

The sounds of gunshots and pained shrieks rang out through the empty freeway, the darkspawn horde quickly decimating under the soldiers' heavy fire. A voice piped up on his radio,

"Slattern to Chantry Boy, come in Chantry Boy."

He had to chuckle at Isabela's handle, she said it was out of affection for a human battering ram who turned out to be one of her closest friends.

"Chantry Boy here, how's it going up there, Slattern?"

"Not good. I see two big nasty's heading your way. Watch your ass out there, Chantry Boy. Slattern out."

"OGRES AHEAD! Ready the tanks!" he screamed behind him, praying he could be heard over the gun fire. Then the ground began to shake beneath him, 'Boom, Boom, Boom Boom' he turned to see the ogres stomping towards them. He screamed for the soldiers to get back, but it was too late. Each ogre had grabbed a soldier in each massive hand and squeezed, crushing the men and women in two before tossing them away and continuing on their path of destruction.

"God damn it why aren't the tanks ready yet?" he shouted at Carmine while throwing open a crate and pulling out a rocket launcher.

"The men are terrified sir; they've never seen anything like this before."

"Well, they'll have to get used to it, O' Donnell, because we are at war with these damn things! Get those tanks ready now!"

Alistair hopped up onto the roof of one if the armored trucks, rocket launcher strapped to his back, he loaded the device, aiming at the ogre who was about to crush a group of men with its foot. "Oi! Ugly!" The ogre turned to face him, half an arm hanging from its mouth. "Yeah I'm talking to you, big fella! I'm the one yah want. Come and get me!"

The ogre started bounding toward Alistair, fist up and clenched ready to strike. Alistair made sure his aim was right, and waited for it to get closer.

The ogre was only five feet away from him, he pulled the trigger but the weapon wouldn't fire. The damn thing jammed! He pulled out his gun and started firing. But the bullets only slowed it down.

When Alistair ran out of ammo he swore, knowing he'd just made the biggest mistake of his life, he tossed the gun to the side and braced for death. He closed his eyes, Serena's face in his mind's eye as he whispered, "I'm so sorry, I love you." He felt the creature grab his torso and squeeze before his world went dark.

Authors note: Thank you to Enchantm3nt for being my lovely beta. Also as a side note, Sereda's middle name is pronounced Ileesa, and it is the name of my very first Dwarven noble character that I ever played on Dragon Age :) also Alistairs middle name is a not so clever nod to his father, Maric. Lol See you soon! :)


	11. Chapter 11

SERENA

When she saw Alistair being swiped up by the ogre her blood froze, then burned with fury. "Land! GOD DAMNIT LAND THIS FUCKING THING!" she screamed at the pilot while unbuckling her harness.

Isabela tried to stop me saying, "Serena, we can't land! There's too many darkspawn, we'll be overwhelmed!"

"Then get me close enough to jump, I'm going in there!"

Isabela grabbed her arm, "Sweetheart, he's gone!"

Serena turned on her with rage in her eyes, "Don't you ever tell me he's gone! EVER."

She grabbed Isabela's daggers out of their scabbards and jumped, head first and daggers drawn towards the ogre. She plunged the daggers into the beast's shoulders, using them as leverage to scale its mass and wrap her legs around its neck. It screamed, tossing an unconscious Alistair to the side, bucking its head and clawing at its neck to get Serena off. When it leaned its head back she used the opportunity to plunge one dagger into its eye, twisting it in as far as it could go, in an attempt to reach it's foul brain. The ogre roared in agony, shaking its head trying to fling her off. She gave a scream of rage and stabbed the other dagger into its skull, leaping from the beast before it fell dead at her feet.

She ran to Alistair, tears streaming down her face, her hands pressed down on him and when she pulled them away they were covered in blood. "MEDIC! We need a medic here now!" she shrieked, her body shaking with sobs.

Carmine appeared beside her and checked Alistair's pulse, putting a hand on her shoulder, "he's unconscious, but alive."

ALISTAIR

He woke to the sounds of beeping machines and low whispers of conversation. He tried to move but groaned as his ribs began to scream in pain. He'd heard someone gasp his name. _Serena. _

"Alistair! Oh thank God you're awake!" She gently grabbed his face and kissed him softly, and he could feel the wet drops of her tears fall onto his face.

"What happened?" The last thing he remembered was the ogre squeezing the life out of him; he'd thought he'd die for certain.

"Well, I saw the ogre grab you from the helicopter...so...I may have...grabbedIsabela'sdaggersandjumpedonitsback!" She'd spoken so fast he'd almost didn't catch what she said. _Almost._

"You what?!" _So reckless! What is it with me and insanely violent women?!_

"I saw it grab you and I panicked. We were flying low enough for me to jump, so I grabbed Isabela's daggers, jumped out and landed on its shoulders, after it dropped you I stabbed it in its eye…and its skull." She looked down on the ground, pretending to be guilty but he knew better. _Crazy wench._

"You could have gotten yourself killed! Have you any idea what that would've done to me if I had woken up to find out you'd died!" He saw her start to cry again and he sighed, anger dissipating, "Thank you for saving me, my love. I should be grateful for you, yet I yelled. I apologize. That was extremely reckless of you though, and I'm not quite sure how you pulled it off."

She shrugged, "Truth be told I'm not sure either, I just saw you dying...and something inside me snapped. I mean I took gymnastics as a kid, but I'd never done anything close to that before. I guess I just got lucky."

"I'd say we were both more than lucky. How bad were my injuries?"

"Your ribs are broken; two of them were sticking out of your skin. You had some internal bleeding but luckily the doctors here were able to fix you up. Though I shouldn't really be surprised, military hospitals deal with these kinds of things all the time."

"Ah, well...that's good that they patched me up, didn't really want to go yet. So many cheeses left uneaten and all that."

Serena stuck her tongue out at him and he chuckled, taking her hand in his, "I love you."

"I love you too," she kissed his hand, "we won by the way. After you and I were flown out Carmine and Sereda gathered the rest of the mercenaries and laid waste to the rest of the group of darkspawn. Body count came in this morning. Only fifteen of our people fell, while seventy darkspawn corpses were found."

He gave her a sad smile, he was happy for the victory, but felt the loss of those men and women who fell, "Has the army fortified the city limits yet?"

She nodded, "Twenty soldiers stationed at each roadway leading into the city, and routine patrols through any forests or otherwise unconventional means of entering the city."

"Good, now how soon can I leave this place?" He wanted out of here and back in the fight as soon as possible. Also to snuggle with Serena. Snuggling sounds wonderful.

"Well you have been here a while… I'll ask the doctor if you can go home today."

She rose and walked to the door, calling for the doctor to come in.

The doctor arrived a moment an thin older man with brown hair peppered with gray, and cold blue eyes, "Ah, I see you have decided to grace us with your presence, Prince Theirin," _Seriously, he seriously just said that?'_"I would say you can't go home today because of 'blah blah blah yada yada' but fortunately for you I'm not I'm not a sugar coat it kind of doctor, so I'll be frank. If you put any sort of strain on your body for the next six weeks, you could re-break a rib that could puncture your lung and kill you. I also know that you saved our lives the other night and that is why I'm signing for your release along with a prescription for painkillers, you'll need 'em. Trust me. So no straining your body for 6 weeks, I mean it. Now get dressed. You'll be able to leave in twenty minutes."

Serena helped Alistair dress in a loose fitting t-shirt and a pair of thin sweatpants, and they walked, albeit slowly, out of the hospital.

SERENA

"Ugh, ow ow ow!" Alistair grunted in pain as she laid him down as gently as she could on the bed.

"I'm sorry, love. It's not my fault you're a foot taller than me!" She giggled.

"I know, I think I need one of those painkillers though, good grief this hurts! I miss magic…" he whined, leaning back on the propped up pillows. She brought him one of the pills and a glass of water before lying next to him, laptop in hand.

"What are you doing?" he asked curiously, leaning over as best he could to peek at the screen.

"I'm checking Facebook real quick, I'm messaging, Leann, my step-mother. She's doing alright, I think. She can't wait to meet you when this is all over."

"Neither can I. She seems like a wonderful woman."

"She really is; though to warn you, she'll be bringing my brothers, sisters, and grandmother along."

"Ooookkkaaayy," he drawled, "what's so bad about that?"

"Well, my brothers rival you in height, and they're pretty dead set on protecting my sisters and I. They'll love you though, you're easy to tease." She chuckled.

"Ha ha, you're so funny. What about Your sisters?" he asked while switching on the TV.

"Well, they're both seniors in high school; they're twins so they have this whole creepy mind link thing. They'll pretty much tease the crap out of you too, but more so, like switching clothes and try to trick you by pretending to be each other."

He looked at her like she had two heads, "Alrighty then, what about your grandmother? She can't be all that bad."

"Well, she's a butt pincher…"

"A what?!" he asked, baffled by her description of her grandmother.

"Oh yeah, she likes to pinch butts, especially when you least expect-HOLY SHIT!"

"What, what is it?!" He'd started to panic.

"You're famous! You even have your own hashtag!"

"Huh? What's a hashtag?" He was confused as to what Serena was so excited about.

"Well it's a way for companies or whoever to see what's trending, and right now that's you. You're speech is all over the news and internet right now with the hashtag 'Go Wardens' apparently hundreds of people in the city are headed to the base to sign up with Carmine to fight with us. They're calling you the. 'Hero of DC'"

"Huh, I'm famous...well I'll be." he looked at a beaming Serena and cracked a smile along with her, proud of himself for rallying the people's support.

"Yes darling, you're famous. You've managed to get all these people together, you nearly died for them. To a lot of people here that speaks volumes about a person; how far one is willing to go to protect another. Then the battle was won and they started to believe in you, and in Sereda. NBC tried interviewing her and she smashed their camera." They both laughed, "I guess she doesn't like the attention."

Alistair knew that wasn't true, Sereda killed her brother Trian in an attempt to secure her spot as Crowned Princess. If it weren't for Bhelen outplaying them both she'd be Queen of Orzammar right now. "Nah, I think she's just grumpy that I stole all the glory. She loves being the big fish in a small pond."

"Ah, I see. Well if she'd put in half the effort you have she'd have a share of the praise too. Now she has to defer to you rather than the other way around, and I bet that it just infuriates her," Serena said with a slightly malicious tone. _It never ends..._

"Sweetheart, I'm here with you. Not her. Remember that please…"

"I know that, I'm thinking of all the horrible things she did in the name of the Grey Wardens. I feel partly responsible actually..."

He raised his eyebrow in question and she answered, "I played the game as her. I made those decisions, though I didn't really want to, I tried going to a different save point and choosing differently but it always turned out the same. In fact the only thing I had a direct influence in was saying no to the ritual and bringing you here."

"Huh, that's...different. Aren't you supposed to have direct influence over the entire game?"

She nodded, "But when I played this last time even if I chose a different path, it would always end up the same way. I tried a peaceful solution between the werewolves and the Dalish, but no matter what I said I ended up having to fight them all. The same thing with Jowan's blood magic, I tried choosing the Circle as an option, but no matter what I did, Isolde always died."

He pondered what she said for a moment. If what she told him was true, then Sereda's personality overrode Serena's control in the game. If that was true, then that had to have been when the tears started occurring in the barrier.

"You must think I'm nuts. I can scarcely believe it myself, but that's how it happened." She'd turned her head away from him in shame and he cupped her cheek, bringing it back to look at him.

"I don't think you're crazy, I think that perhaps you and Sereda are more connected than we think, her personality was able to override your decisions. That may be when the tears started happening, and the reason why you were able to influence the decision for the ritual is because she was going to say no to begin with. Please don't fret about it please; those were Sereda's actions, not yours." He kissed her forehead and she smiled warmly up at him.

"Thank you, you are a remarkable man. I love you."

"I love you too. Let's get some sleep, we have work in the morning." He kissed her softly, leaning her head on his shoulder, drifting off to the sound of her breathing.

SERENA

Six weeks later...

They'd had 7 more darkspawn attacks since Alistair was injured nearly a month and a half before. He'd groused every time she went out to fight, complaining that he couldn't protect her from their hotel room. Eventually she gave in and let him fly in the helicopter with Isabela, searching for the still-hiding Archdemon. He was grumpy about it at first but she would brook no argument, and he relented with a huff, saying that if she'd died he would kill her. She was on her way to Isabela's room to check if she had found any trace of Morrigan when Flemeth materialized in the hallway, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin.

"Hello Serena."

"Again, can you warn me before popping up? If not I'm putting a bell on you, because this is getting ridiculous."

"And I'll tell you again that scaring you is much more appealing than calling you. I've come to warn you, Morrigan is preparing to offer the ritual to you both. I suggest you take it."

"That isn't my choice, it's Alistair's. Even if it were I'd tell you to suck eggs, I'm not putting the world at risk for one person."

Flemeth's eyes became hard as stone. "The Archdemon knows Alistair was the one to take the killing blow last time, if you don't convince him to do this ritual the Archdemon may seek him out after death and kill him as if he were the one to kill it."

Anger surged through Serena. "Key word 'may' and it never occurred to you to mention this before?!" she spat. "So now we have to put the future in danger, possibly hand the world over to your daughter on a silver platter, because you couldn't think to tell us this sooner?!"

"I've only told you what you needed to know, and I've a way out if you'll listen." Serena clenched her jaw in frustration but nodded for Flemeth to continue, "If you kill Morrigan, or make her miscarry after the Archdemon has been slain, you can keep Alistair alive and protect the planet from future threat."

_Is she being serious right now?_ Serena's eyes grew wide, "You want me to kill your own daughter, and a child along with it?"

"T'would be a speck of life at that point, but yes. As far as Morrigan is concerned I could not care less. She has done nothing but cause me grief since I sent her with the Wardens, or did you forget that she tried to have me killed?"

"I'm not going to kill her; I'll leave this choice up to Alistair, as it should be. Now fuck off somewhere, I need to think."

With that Flemeth disappeared, leaving Serena in the hallway to think, she was sick of not being told what she needed to know until it was nearly too late. She had already fought with Alistair once about this, and she wasn't keen on doing so again, but the Archdemon may indeed try to kill him as its last act, if such a thing were possible. She may have just said that to convince me to kill Morrigan. Either way, Alistair had to know this new information as soon as possible, so she turned around and headed straight back to their room.

ALISTAIR

He sat on the couch watching the President give a speech about the darkspawn and how vigilant he's been in finding a solution. _Solution my arse, you've been letting us take care of it for you. Some leader you are._

Serena walked in red faced and fuming, slamming her bag down on the table.

"Whoa, what's going on?" He asked before lifting himself off the couch to stand beside her. He was still sore, but the doctors said his ribs had healed nicely and that it was just his muscles seizing from the injuries.

She stood shaking, before turning towards him saying, "I just found out if you don't do Morrigan's ritual that the Archdemon may seek you out and kill you, whether Sereda takes the killing blow or not."

He stood, stunned at her words, trying to process the information. The Archdemon had said it would kill him, but he didn't know that it could seek out him personally to kill, that it would automatically flow into Sereda when she killed it. If all this was true, he'd once again have no choice but to do something he didn't want to do for the sake of other people, only to endanger them again later. He felt helpless, and the feeling left a sour taste in his mouth.

After a while he spoke up, voice thick with despair, "Then I don't really have a choice, do I?" He swallowed hard, "I have to do the ritual."

Serena nodded, "But Flemeth says that if we kill Morrigan after the Archdemon finds the foetus; or otherwise make her miscarry, we can avoid the threat of Morrigan using the child later. It's not the best thing to do; actually it's one of the most evil things we could do. However, I can't think of a better plan. Can you?"

He shook his head, unable to speak. He knew that the Wardens do what they must but this felt like it was going too far. He hated Morrigan, but killing her? She'd saved his life far too many times to count despite her complete distaste for him as a person. Then the child, his child…he'd have to make that one choice of the planet or his child far sooner than he wanted to, he thought he could avoid it by refusing the ritual and there'd be no choice to make at all.

_That's what I get for hoping things would go that smoothly._

In the end he knew what he had to do, for the good of this world and Thedas, he had to kill his soon to be unborn child. "Alright, I'll do the ritual. Then after the battle, we kill Morrigan."

Authors note: See! He's ok. :) many thanks to Enchantm3nt for being my beta and also for #GoWardens. She came up with that and she deserves all the awesome for it. :) Reviews are awesome and thank you for reading! :)


	12. Chapter 12

Authors note: So warning, alcoholism ahead and mild violence (spanking but not the fun kind) thank you to Enchantm3nt who polishes this baby up til it's shining bright, she's my favorite ever. Lol :) enjoy

SERENA

She hadn't gone to bed with Alistair that night; instead she had left and gone to the hotel bar to drown her sorrows with the strongest liquor her stomach could handle. She knew he'd have no choice but to sleep with Morrigan but that didn't make the pain lessen. She's drank into the wee hours of the morning and stumbled into bed still in her clothes. When she woke up the next morning Alistair wasn't there. He hadn't even left a note to tell her where he was going, he'd just left. She'd dragged herself back out of bed and went straight to the mini bar in the fridge, grabbing every tiny bottle she could get her hands on and had continued with her drinking, collapsing down on the couch. She'd drank the day away, never answering her phone or checking her emails. She'd just sat in her drunken stupor, trying to numb the pain of what Alistair was going to do.

That had carried on for two weeks, Serena would leave in the evening for the bar and Alistair would be gone when she woke in the morning. Only for her to leave again before Alistair came back.

One night Alistair came back early, he took one look at her drunken form and his anger visibly flared, he ripped the small bottle of vodka from her hands and threw it at the wall, the glass shattering on impact. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, Serena?!"

She scoffed, "I'm getting drunk, or I was. That was the last bottle."

He turned to her, eyes shining with unshed tears. "Is that you're way of making things better? If you can't feel it then it doesn't exist? Is that it? Why won't you talk to me?!"

"BECAUSE WHAT WOULD BE THE POINT?!" she screamed, trying her hardest to keep her own tears from escaping. "No matter what we say to each other we can't change it. You're still gonna end up fucking that witch!"

He looked at her like she'd slapped him. "Is that what this is about? Are you angry with me for what I have to do?" he whispered.

"Yes," she lied, "Now, get out." She really wasn't angry at him, just tired, tired of having obstacles thrown at them, most of them in the form of beautiful women.

He hung his head, fists clenched at his sides. "Fine. Should've known doing the right thing would bite me in the ass, probably should've just let me die," he choked, and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

She fell on her knees and cried, her heart shattering with every sob. '_What have I done?'_

ALISTAIR

He'd gone to Isabela's room, fuming about Serena's behavior and her apparent lack of respect towards his feelings. He threw his arms up in defeat, "I'm done! I'm done with crazy women and their crazy emotional roller-coasters! I'm so over this it's not even funny, I've accepted everything I have to do to save this planet from burning, I've come to terms with all of it. I love her dearly but she's being such a, such a-"

"Brat?" Isabela concluded, she'd listen to his entire story of what had happened, and if he didn't know any better it would look to him like she was starting to get very...cross.

"YES! She's being a massive brat! I don't even know how to calm her down or anything, she won't talk to me!" He hung his head, he felt utterly drained. _Apparently I can't save the world without my girlfriend throwing a hissy fit!_

"Alright, so you said she's played this game before?" Isabela had questioned with an eyebrow raised and a small smile on her lips, almost as if she knew the answer already.

"Yes, she's played it several times." Where is she going with this?

"Uh huh, and she took the ritual every time except this last time?"

He nodded, "Yeeeess?" Wondering what on earth the pirate was up to.

"So, she stopped something you didn't want from happening?" She'd stood up, walking to face him down, "She kept you from doing the ritual before, and also saved your life when the Archdemon nearly killed you. Do you know how?"

He looked confused, and she thumped him on the forehead, "Because she was upset at your death, you ass! That fear is what brought you here, right? It gave Flemeth the opportunity she needed to send you here."

"Yes! Yes it was! Ow by the way!" He rubbed the sore spot on his forehead.

"Get over it, she saved your life, you moron, that makes it twice now that she's consciously saved your sorry arse. You need to start appreciating that fact, you'd be dead twice over if it weren't for her."

His heart sank with guilt, she was right. Serena had saved his life, and prevented him from doing something he didn't want to do, but she was still behaving terribly. Handling this situation like a child would, "You're right, but that doesn't excuse what she's doing. The drinking, it has to stop." He sat down on the sofa, elbows resting on his knees.

"I'm well aware. That's why we're gonna make her talk, come on," Isabela walked to the door, "Well? You gonna come grab your girlfriend or what? I can't lift her myself, and if you really want to get through to her, you'll have to be a bit...forceful."

He stood up, completely flabbergasted at what Isabela had said, and the tiniest bit terrified of the dusky pirate, as she had a look on her face that had told him everything he needed to know. Isabela was PISSED.

When they got to the bar they'd found Serena still clad in her pyjamas, waving money in the face of the frustrated bartender who'd cut her off.

"Come on," she whined, trying to push the money into the bartender's hand, "Just one more and I'll get out of your hair."

"Absolutely not, you've had enough. Now go on back to your room and sleep it off."

Alistair shook his head, embarrassed by the drunken state of his lady love.

"Why you son of a-hey! Put me down!"

Serena had shouted as Alistair threw her over his shoulder and carried her out of the bar, Isabela walking behind them.

"God damnit, Alistair put me down right now!"

"Nope," Isabela pressed the button to the elevator, "he's not putting you down until we get to my room."

"Why not? You stupid bitch who says I want to go to your room with him? I don't want to talk. Now, fucking put me down!" Serena had landed a lucky blow to Alistair's kidney, he roared in pain and tossed her on to the elevator floor, right on her ass. The doors closed before she could leave and Serena fumed, spitting out curses and flailing her arms.

Alistair threw her back on his shoulder once more, her kicking and screaming threatening to wake everyone on this floor, that's when he did something he probably shouldn't have, but it he needed her to shut up before police were called. He raised his hand and gave her a hard slap across her backside making her yelp in pain. "Are you done wailing, Serena?"

"Oh you piece of-" CRACK, "Ow!"

"I'll keep doing it until you be quiet, so shut up, "he grunted, ignoring her whimpers, trying his hardest to not let the guilt of hurting her overwhelm him. She's drunk and causing a scene, telling her to be quiet wasn't working.

Isabela had opened the door for them and he set her down on the couch, trying not to crack a smile at the unbelievable pout Serena put on when she looked at him.

"Alright big guy, why don't you go back to your room for a bit, eh?" Isabela had said with a venomous smile aimed at Serena.

Oh shit. He knew what she was up to, but he couldn't help but feel a bit bad for what was about to happen to Serena, it'd be worse for her than for him. Seeing as he was only acting like an ass, and she was behaving like a child, throwing a hissy fit when life didn't go her way.

"Why? Why does he have to leave? I thought we were supposed to talk," Serena grumbled, wincing when she shifted positions on the couch. No guilt now, Alistair. Not yet.

"Because Kitten, you and I are gonna have a little chat."

SERENA

When she saw Alistair walk out the door she heaved a small sigh of longing. She was feeling guilty, her bum was sore, and her head was swimming. Isabela sat on the coffee table in front of her, looking every bit as pissed off as she assumed that she herself would be if she'd had to mediate a lovers spat in the middle of the night.

"So, you're angry," Serena said sheepishly, staring at her fingers.

"Yes, I'm angry. Can I let you in on something that you apparently don't seem to know?"

Serena eyed her curiously, but nodded.

"Good, now that gorgeous man in there? He's bloody nuts about you. He could have any woman he wants, but he wants you. He never even existed to you a few months ago outside of a screen and now he's here, living, breathing Alistair. Are you gonna sit here and act like an idiot when you've got someone that fan girls all over the world would give their right arms for? Goodness Serena he is literally perfect!"

Serena was confused as to what point Isabela was trying to make, "I know that, but I'm just gonna lose him anyway. So what's the point in trying?" She sniffled, fighting her tears all over again.

"What makes you say that? Has he said he's going to leave you? Has he told you he doesn't love you? Tell me what makes you feel like you shouldn't try?" Isabela prodded, grabbing Serena's chin and forcing her to look into her eyes.

"Because he's going to be going to Morrigan's bed soon, as soon as she pops up more likely. He'll probably fall in love with her and leave me right after." She wallowed in her self-pity, wishing as hard as she could that alcohol would magically appear in her hand so she could push the hurt down.

Then Isabela had slapped her, hard. Her cheek instantly flaring in pain," Ow! Fuck Izzy! What was that for?!"

"Hopefully to slap some sense into you. He has no choice but to do this. No. Fucking. Choice. It's this or death, so you need to put your big girl panties on and deal with the fact that he has to go sleep with another woman. A woman he despises by the way, I've seen it myself if he felt he could get away with it he'd have strangled her back in the Wilds when they first met. You have a right to hurt; I'm not saying you don't. But hurt later because the planet needs you two together. The only reason he's even still here is because he loves you, you stupid, stupid woman."

She took a moment to let Isabela's words sink in, of course she was right. It seemed she always was, she needed to put aside her pain about the ritual and do what she needed to end the Blight. But her mind kept to trailing back to what it would do to her heart if he'd left her or if it failed and he died anyway...making everything they had done to prepare pointless. She needed to spend what little time she may have left loving him, not pushing him away, but the fierce need to guard her heart was overwhelming,

"Have you ever felt like you were constantly competing? Always having to walk in the shadow of women who are just so much more than you are?"

"Yes," Isabela replied honestly, "I was in love with a man, who was so completely beautiful, strong and fierce. Everything I never knew I wanted, but he was in love with someone else. When he told me who it was I had lost it, took my ship and ran away. That's how I ended up finding this world actually. I had been running from my own hurt, and I never looked back. I regret it though, never telling him how I felt. I'm telling you now that you are not in anybody's shadow unless you put yourself there. Alistair didn't do this to you, you did this to yourself."

"It was Fenris, wasn't it?" Serena had grabbed Isabela's hand and lightly squeezed, and when Isabela nodded, "Marian Hawke is a tough act to follow."

When the truth finally dawned on her it was if she'd been punched in the gut, she'd been moping and wallowing in self-pity instead of focusing on what had been important. She didn't have to be happy about it, but she needed to accept the fact that it was necessary to prevent the world from falling into darkness. There was nothing she could do change it, and she'd been taking it out on Alistair despite it not being his fault.

"Oh God, you're right I've been acting like a-"

"Brat?" Isabela interrupted with a chuckle.

"Yes, yes a brat, ugh I've been incredibly stupid, none of this changes anything. I hope Alistair will forgive me, though I can't say I'd blame him if he didn't." She rubbed her temples, her inevitable hangover making its appearance.

"Well, that's entirely up to him. Isn't it? I wouldn't forgive you but I'm not one to put up with all of-" she waved a hand over Serena, "this. Honestly you might want to shower though before you talk to him, go ahead and use mine. I'll go get you some clothes from your room."

"Ah, yes. I'm very ripe aren't I?"

"You smell like a stripper, and not in the good way. Go on, I'll be here when you get out."

"What? No other parting words of wisdom, my gypsy pirate?" Serena chuckled, standing up and rubbing her still sore backside.

"I don't get paid enough for this shit," she grumbled while walking out the door. Serena laughed, before heading towards the bathroom.

ALISTAIR

He'd just stepped out of the shower when Isabela came in, he hadn't even had a chance to put on his pyjamas, so when she walked in she saw him only in his boxers, and he immediately felt uncomfortable at her leering eyes.

"It's just not fair..." she whined.

"What do you want Bela? I assume you spoke with her?"

She nodded, "Yes, she's taking a shower right now. I'm just here to get her some clothes."

He pointed at Serena's bag and turned to put on a pair of black pyjama pants, leaving his torso bare. He'd collected a few scars from his fight with the ogre, two wide ones stood out on his side from where his ribs broke through the skin.

"Alright, I'll send her to you once she's dressed. You two can talk when she gets here. Make sure you two solve this tonight, the world needs you both at your best." With that Isabela left, leaving Alistair to pray that he and Serena would still be together after their talk."

When Serena came in his first thought was how much he'd like to kill Isabela; she'd grabbed Serena's red silk nightie for her to wear, her beautiful legs exposed to his now hungry eyes. Serena cleared her throat, snapping him out of his naughty reverie, and whispered that she was sorry. He took the opportunity to look at her face; she had dark circles under her eyes from the alcohol and lack of sleep, and her complexion was almost ashen. _But still so beautiful._

"So...I guess we should talk about why I've been acting the way I have," she said quietly.

"Uh, yes. Yes we should, come sit. Please." His heart had started beating hard in his chest, hoping with all the hope he had left that this wouldn't end in heartbreak.

"I was so focused on the fact that you'd be having sex with someone else, that I had blinded myself to anything else. I had blown up the situation so much in my mind that, I had thought you'd actually leave me for Morrigan. Looking back on it I see how stupid that was, but I figured if I pushed you away, that it would hurt less. I see now how stupid that was, but the thought of you with another woman still makes me sick. Alistair I know you have no choice, that this is our only option, but it doesn't make it less painful. The world needs us however, and I'm going to try to set my pride and my feelings aside. I love you, and I know you love me. I know that you have no reason to forgive me for acting like a-"

"Brat?" Alistair chuckled.

"Good Lord, yes! That's everybody's favorite word today isn't it? Yes I've been a brat." She started to laugh, and the sound was music to Alistair's ears.

"I forgive you, for now. Serena we have the most important job in the world right now, we can't just buckle under the pressure of it all. I need you; I can't do this without you. Look I've done all I can to show you that you are the only woman I see, that you've got my heart. I need that to be enough, Serena." He took her hand in his.

"Yes, of course it is. I love you, I'm so sorry; I'll say it a thousand times if I have to. I'm sorry."

He leaned in to kiss her gently, bringing his free hand up to cup her cheek, she responded in kind, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss. He'd pulled her into his lap and lifted the nightie over her head, determined to erase the last two weeks from their minds.

SERENA

Her vision struck her as the sun rose, freezing her where she stood, whispers and images flooding her mind.

_Blood. Fire. Death. Archdemon, the Old Post Office, the sounds of flesh tearing and bones breaking, Sereda's lifeless body dangling from its maw. Alistair taking the Final Blow. He lives. The child...the child...yellow eyes, Morrigan screaming, the child...the child…the child..._

When she snapped out of it Alistair was thrashing wildly in his sleep, barely contained screams threatening to break through his lips.

"Alistair! Alistair! Wake up baby, wake up!"

His eyes shot open and he sat up, his body trembling as he tried to regain his breath, "The Archdemon, it's here. It's started, I can feel it. It's here!"

Before she'd had time to react to one disaster, another in the form of a raven haired mage appeared at their bed side.

"It appears I have arrived on time after all. How wonderful."


	13. Chapter 13

Authors note: I know I say it all the time but I'll say it again, many thanks and praises to Enchantm3nt. Who not only beta reads, but also gives me lots of amazing advice! :) and now onto the beginning of the end. Only a few chapter to go! It has been an amazing ride with all of you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart :)

SERENA

Serena laughed a self-depreciating laugh. "Oh I soo saw this coming. You're just like your mother using your stupid magic to poof out of nowhere and just when you're really not wanted." She glared at the witch. "So it begins then? You're here to cast your sneaky witch spell of evil conception?" She laughed again. "Pfft, I don't know why I was so worried, you're far too bony!" she mocked as best she could, trying to mask her surprise at the witch's rather timely arrival. _I'd like to strangle her right about now._

"Mock all you want, it changes nothing," the witch said plainly. "Now leave us, t'would be easier to do this without you present."

She clenched her fists, shooting the witch a glare. I _cannot wait to kill you with my bare hands, bitch._ Serena scoffed and slid from the bed, throwing on some clothes and walked to the door. She turned at the last minute and grabbed Alistair, giving him the most passionate kiss she could manage, and then left the room with a string of curses.

Isabela had murder in her eyes when she opened the door for Serena but Serena had cut off her brewing rant with a finger. "She's here. So before you get pissy I am only here because I was basically thrown out by a swamp witch whose head I desperately want to rip off."

Isabela nodded and motioned her to come in she gave a sarcastic grin. "Great! I'll make the coffee."

Isabela had done her best to distract Serena from what was happening down the hall, but nothing would lift her sour mood. "Cheer up, kitten! We've got a big dragon to fight today, you should be excited!"

"How can I be excited about any of this? And to top it all off I had a vision. It wasn't clear though, it was just flashes and whispers. I'm not sure what to make of it."

"You saw the future through the eyes of others, just as you've always done." Flemeth had materialized, causing Isabela to leap for her daggers. Serena however, just sat there, giving her a nonchalant greeting. Much to Flemeth's disappointment.

"It does not scare you anymore?" If Serena hadn't known better she'd have sworn the woman was pouting.

Serena shrugged. "Nah, you got predictable. I knew you'd pop up eventually, especially since your daughter and my boyfriend are getting' freaky down the hall. Would you like some coffee?"

"No, I've come to-"

"Warn me. Yes, yes you've become far too boring. So lay it on me my soulless sistah! Will I have to stand on my head naked and play a tune with a horn up my ass or the moon will fall from orbit? Or does Alistair need to do a strip tease in drag at a prison or else Hell with freeze over, causing the worst flu season in history?" _Damn I'm grumpy, might need more coffee...yeesh. _She heard Isabela barely contained her laughter. _Hehe, never mind. I rock!_

"Do you not take the world's destruction seriously, girl? Do you have any care at all as to what's going on around you?" Flemeth looked furious, though at that point Serena couldn't have cared less.

"Nope, well I mean I do. I'm still gonna do my job, but right now I don't really give a flying fuck about what you have to say to me. I've got a hangover that's been two weeks in the making, a Tainted Old God is making its way towards the city, and there's a skanky witch in my room with the man I love, making the child that he and I will probably never have together," she paused for a breath, "But, I'm still gonna help save everyone's asses, because that's the kind of person I am today. Yesterday? I was a coward. Today however, I'm a warrior. So please, tell me your oh-so-important warning, so that my coquettish friend and I can prepare for battle." She shot Isabela a playful wink, who responded in kind.

"Well...I was going to tell you that the Archdemon has appeared, but it seems you already know." Flemeth actually looked surprised, if such a thing were possible.

"Yeah, I'm sleeping with a Grey Warden. You should try it sometime."

Flemeth cackled and vanished, and Isabela rushed to Serena's side, giving her a well-deserved high five. "I can't believe you just told off the Witch of the Wilds! You are absolutely insane, but also completely awesome!"

"Eh, if you'd had her popping in and out if your life for the better part of a year bearing only bad news, you'd do it too. Now let's order breakfast. Make sure to get plenty for Alistair, and transfer us to another room. I won't be able to go back in there without setting it on fire, and neither will he."

ALISTAIR

He felt disgusted, every moment of his time with the witch made him want to vomit. She'd had tried to coax him into arousal, but he'd just thrown her off and did it himself. He'd attempted to close his eyes and picture making love to Serena, but the witch's nearly skeletal frame made it nigh impossible. When he finished he'd thrown her out; then scoured himself in the shower, trying to erase all traces of Morrigan from his body. The deed was done; his life, and in turn the delicate balance of the two worlds was saved. He couldn't wait until the battle was over, so he could move on with Serena and finally live in peace.

When he'd approached Isabela's room he hesitated. _Should I even see her so soon after? Will she want some time to cool down' _Before he had turned away the door flew open to reveal Serena, a cup of coffee in each hand and a bagel in her mouth. He couldn't help but laugh at the sight, his beautiful woman looking utterly silly. She'd handed him one of the cups and pulled the bagel from her mouth, "So you gonna come in or what? We kinda have a battle to plan."

He'd entered the room, and saw that Isabela was on the phone with someone in the lobby, asking if He and Serena could have a different room, "Ah, you read my mind! I don't think I could go back there without-"

"Setting the place on fire? Yeah I know, that's why I asked her to do it." Serena sat on the couch, patting the cushion beside her for him to sit.

He sat down and grabbed himself a bagel, spreading cream cheese on it while asking, "So you aren't upset?"

"No, why should I be? I spent two weeks trying to bury my pain. Last night I owned it, and turned it into something more useful." She'd taken a bite out of her bagel, looking at him thoughtfully.

"What did you turn it into?" He was almost afraid to ask, but better he know now the possibility of her doing something reckless. Rather than finding out after she'd already done it.

"I channelled it into my fighting. I know that we can't change what happened, and I'm using that to fuel my concentration. Isabela and I have been practicing our hand to hand all morning. I nearly threw her through the wall."

His eyebrows nearly flew off his head, he looked at Isabela who nodded and gave Serena the finger. _Well, better that than drunk_. "How on earth can someone as small as you kick so much ass?"

"It's a gift! Also my dad always felt that I should be able to defend myself from potential attackers. So once I was twelve he signed me up for martial arts. Plus despite my fluffy exterior I'm pretty fast, it makes it easier to get the drop on all you tall people." She shrugged as if a five foot tall women just tossing around a full grown men was a common occurrence. Apparently women who could potentially kill me turn me on, go figure.

"Well, how far away is the Archdemon? You woke up knowing it was here, but when will it be in the city?" Serena asked, throwing on her uniform in the process. He had to admit that the military look suited her, the grey utility pants made her already amazing rear look fuller, and the black cotton t-shirt hugged her curves just right, she'd waved a hand in front of his eyes, giggling at his obvious staring, "Well? How far out is the beastie?"

"Oh! He's about eight hours or so from the city, the only reason that I knew it was coming is because it wanted me to. It was taunting me all over again, showing me images of the city in flames and children being ripped away from their parents by darkspawn."

"Alright, eight hours isn't so bad, but if we want to get the jump on it we'll have to move quickly. Let's head over to the base and talk with Sereda and Carmine, no doubt that they'll be eager to get started."

SERENA

When they'd gotten to the base they were swarmed by reporters and volunteers wanting to join the fight. Serena watched Alistair talk to each reporter in turn, he had a new confidence in him she'd never witnessed before; he stood tall and spoke with all the charm and determination she always knew was hidden beneath the unsure exterior he once carried. He found her gaze and smiled warmly at her, and she knew then that he was born to be a leader; he just hadn't found the right place to lead.

They'd found Sereda and Carmine chatting in the court yard, and Serena was surprised that the fierce dwarf was actually blushing, _Huh, probably just gonna let that go for now._ Sereda saw them and approached Serena, hand out as a sign of peace, Serena took it, grabbing her forearm in the traditional Thedosian greeting, "So I take it we are at a truce for now then?"

Sereda had smiled and nodded, "We are. You are far better for him than I could ever be; I've seen his confidence grow more in these past few months than I have ever witness in my time with him. For that I thank you, as well as envy you."

Serena flushed at the unexpected praise, "I...uh, thanks."

Sereda smiled again and moved to re-join the group, "However, if you die. I'm swooping in. Don't doubt that."

Serena laughed," Good luck with that, we all know how he feels about swooping."

ALISTAIR

"So we need to get the Archdemon to the top of the Old Post office building," Alistair hesitated. The buildings here aren't as sturdy, maybe… "Though I worry it might crush the building. Any chance we can take out its wings and get it to land on the ground?"

Carmine nodded, "We have surface to air missiles, we can use them to blow a hole in its wings, hopefully taking it down to our level without much destruction."

Sereda chimed in, "Oh there'll be destruction. That creature will take everything down that it can before landing."

"That's true, if we can find a way to bring it down outside the city, we can take it out while the army and marines can handle the darkspawn that get into the city. We will have resistance on our own of course; darkspawn will be standing in our way to the Archdemon, though if we bring enough people, we should be able to cut them down without incident."

"Then it's all a question of where. There's fields to the south of here, outside of Alexandria, that may be out best bet of keeping people safe, there's houses and whatnot but we can send our people out to warn them if they haven't already fallen to the darkspawn," Carmine sighed, running a hand over his stubbled face, "Which may be more likely. We've lost nearly a third of the country's population with the arrival of these monsters, and it seems that their armies are growing!"

Alistair regarded the other man thoughtfully, though Carmine was only a few years older than he, his face had displayed the signs of early aging, more likely from life as a mercenary blended with their current predicament. The man's head was closely shaved but his facial hair was kept in a closely trimmed autumn colored beard. His steely blue eyes showed his fear and his determination, a trait Alistair admired most however was the man's compassion, he took everyone as they were and did his best to teach them how to defend themselves without a thought for his own convenience, which was a surprising trait for a man in the mercenary business.

He put a hand on the fellows shoulder, "We will get through this, my friend. Have faith."

Carmine gave Alistair a sad smile, then pointed at a spot on the map, "There. We can have everything we need shipped over there in an hour, couple of abandoned farms but other than that it's empty."

"Good, have your people start on that and get in contact with the President we need him to get the army and marines out on the street, evacuating anyone who's still in the city. Also have the air force up in the air and have them take out as much of the horde as they can before it gets here."

"Yes sir!" Carmine left to attend to his tasks, winking at Sereda as he walked out the door. Alistair saw Sereda flush and wave, and he chuckled, walking towards her with a cheeky grin, "Looks like our resident psychopath has a bit of a crush on the mercenary." She smacked him playfully on the chest and he laughed, causing her to chuckle along with him.

"Yeah, as it turns out I have a heart. Who'd have thought?" she joked. "There is a huge chance one or both of us will die, so we're taking what we can get before we croak."

Alistair began to fidget, knowing Sereda would be at the very least shocked by the news, "Ah...actually, you won't die if you take the final blow."

It clicked instantly for her, and her brows furrowed, "You did the ritual, didn't you?"

When he nodded she sighed, "Does Serena know?"

"Yes, we knew it was going to happen for a while. She reacted...poorly at first, though in the end she accepted what had to be done and took it gracefully." He smiled in pride at the thought of Serena, how she'd changed her point of view literally overnight.

"Well she's braver than me; I would've killed the witch."

"Says the woman who slept with the assassin, and who remains alive thanks to me."

"Fair point." Her face turned thoughtful. "I never got to apologize for the things I said when I came back, you deserved better than the venom I spat at you. I have no excuse for it, other than being jealous at your moving on from me. I treated you poorly when we were together, I shouldn't have been surprised. I do care about you though, and I'm happy to see you happy."

It warmed his heart to know that Sereda had softened enough to admit that she had wronged him. He'd forgiven her a while ago, but hearing her apology just made it all the easier. He pulled her into a friendly hug. "I forgive you, friend. Now let's go get us some glory!"

She laughed at him and they walked side by side, the Wardens of Ferelden together one last time.

SERENA

She'd spent most of the meeting out in the yard, sparring with the other soldiers to insure they were at the top of their game, when Alistair emerged from the building with Sereda, she gave him a curious look and he nodded, signaling that the two Wardens had put past transgressions aside, and were ready to face this war together as comrades. She'd smiled at them. Feeling a level of security she thought she'd never feel after finding out about the ritual. She'd spent two weeks being angry, now that is was over with she felt a sense of peace. She ran over and jumped into the truck with Alistair, heart racing as they headed off to battle.

When they arrived at the battlefield it was eerily quiet, like all the life and sound around them had been snuffed out. The silence was disturbing, sending shivers down her spine. They'd all started to gather around Sereda and Alistair, who had stood up on crates to address the crowd of soldiers. Alistair stepped up first, clearing his throat before speaking,

"Look, I'm not going to tell you that you're all going to survive this. That's false hope that I refuse to give you; not because I feel like destroying your hope, but because you fine men and women deserve to know the truth. Some of you may die; some of you may become tainted. I promise you however that if you do, you will be remembered not only by myself and my fellow Warden, but by all the great people of this nation! If you have any hope left then hope for this Blight to end, and hope that your sacrifice may not be in vain. The people of this world have a courage I've yet to see in my world. You are willing to give up everything you possess to protect your country! That is why we shall show the darkspawn what it means to fight the Americans! A people known for their refusal to bow to tyranny and oppression, who fought against racism and prejudice for what all people have the right to, freedom. That is what we are fighting for ladies and gentleman! FOR FREEDOM!"

The crowd whooped and howled, morale boosted immensely by Alistair's uplifting words. Sereda had stepped up next, gently urging them to settle down,

"Well how am I supposed to follow that?" The crowd laughed along with her and she continued, "My people have fought the darkspawn since the First Blight, and we have survived, that should tell you that your country can survive this too. I shall prepare you nonetheless for what you all should look for. Darkspawn blood is tainted, do not swallow it, do your level best to keep it out of any wounds, and clean your knives if you get a chance to stab one. They do not tire as you and I do, the only way to stop them is death, so do not hesitate to kill every last one of them. Do not engage an ogre on your own! If you see one and you are alone you run, as fast as you can and you find Alistair or myself, we will handle it accordingly. Leave the Archdemon to us Wardens. Only we can kill it, and any of you trying to be brave and slay it will only get you killed, and delay the end of this battle. Understood?"

The crowd cried in unison, "YES MAAM!"

"Good, prepare for battle ladies and gentlemen. Today we kick some ass!"

Serena's confidence was soaring, the adrenaline pumping through her blood like a wildfire in her veins; she flexed her hands and rolled her neck, preparing for the battle that would no doubt be won by the time dawn came.

ALISTAIR

The sun had set, and the rain began to fall, his senses heightened from the adrenaline despite the taunts of the Archdemon's whispers in his mind. He felt the darkspawn before he saw them, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. He looked to his right at Sereda, and saw a feral smile on her lips, _this time I will not fail. THIS time, the Blight ends..._ To his left was Serena, eyes blazing as she pulled out her guns. She had never looked more beautiful as she did in that moment, her stance sure and determined. He pulled her to him for one last kiss, pouring all of his love and devotion to her into that one searing kiss, "I love you," he whispered as he trailed his thumb across her bottom lip.

"And I love you. Always."

The horde had emerged from the tree line, swords drawn. Alistair held up a hand to signal the sliders to ready their weapons. "This is it! READY!" He heard guns cocking and tank engines roaring to life "AIM!" He raised his gun at the horde. "FIRE!"

The soldiers let loose, bullets cutting through the front lines of the darkspawn like butter. He heard an explosion and looked up to see the Archdemon in the sky, its left wing a tattered flaming mess. He looked over to Carmine who was manning the missile launcher that took it down, sharing a nod with the mercenary. The Archdemon crashed into the field ahead of them, screeching in pain and spewing purple flame. "SEREDA! Time to go dragon hunting!" He grabbed his fellow Warden, Serena, Isabela and Carmine, and they stalked towards the screaming beast with death in their eyes.

"This ends today," he told his comrades. "It ends today..."


	14. Chapter 14

Authors note: So here we are at the final battle. It's been fun hasn't it? I know that I've had a blast! We have one more chapter then the epilogue to go, but do not fret my lovelies. You shall see all these beautiful characters again soon. A special thanks once again to Enchantm3nt, without her this wouldn't have gone as far as it had, and I owe her a lot for being a brilliant beta and advice giver. Thank you to all who have followed and favorited not only this story, but me as well. you've all been so amazing! :)

SERENA

The Archdemon thrashed its tail upon their approach, nearly sending Carmine flying across the field; Sereda had yanked him out of the way however, and slashed into its tail with her poisoned daggers. Serena was firing shot after shot into the beasts hide, attempting to slow it down rather than kill it. Alistair threw a sticky grenade at its other wing, the appendage exploding in fire on contact. The dragon was completely grounded. Darkspawn had begun to surround them then, slashing and stabbing at any who dared harm their Master. Serena saw a hurlock try to flank Alistair, and with a speed she never knew she possessed she was on it, snapping its neck before its sword could make good on its threat. Alistair looked behind him at her and smiled, then turning back to fire at the Archdemon once more.

The battle was chaos, noise and lights, fire and blood, bullets meeting swords. It seemed like the battle would be won until every darkspawn they killed, another took its place. They're numbers were near overwhelming, but the army pressed on with tanks firing at ogres, and she spotted Isabela in her 'updated' uniform. A pair of grey shorts and low cut black tank top; she had the good sense to put her hair up however, which was a step in the right direction.

She turned to see an ogre stomping towards Carmine and before she could shout, it had him; the massive creature had picked Carmine up by one leg, crushing it in its fist. Carmine howled in pain and tried to shoot the beast, but it wouldn't go down. Suddenly, two spectral hands came out of the sky, grabbing the ogre by its arms, causing it to drop Carmine. The ghostly hands tore the ogres arms from its torso, and the monster dropped dead on the ground. Serena looked around the battlefield for any signs of Flemeth, thinking that she had been the one to cast such a powerful spell. She found Morrigan on a hillside, and with a nod the swamp witch disappeared once again.

Serena ran to Carmine and helped him to the medics tent on the far side of the battle field, nearly dropping him when he saw who was inside, "Hawke?!"

"In the flesh," Hawke gave a sarcastic bow, "Isabela sent for us. Fenris and Varric are already on the battlefield and I'm here to heal any injuries and then join you. Lay him down on the cot, I'll have a look."

Once she'd gotten Carmine on the cot she looked at his leg. His knee down was completely mangled, there would be no way for him to keep it, even healing magic couldn't repair a pulped leg, "Carmine I'm so sorr-"

"Don't. I wanted to fight, I made this choice. If my legs gone so be it. I'd rather lose my leg than let this world go to shit, now go. They need you out there." Hawke had put a sleeping spell on him then, telling Serena she needed to leave, so that the she-mage could amputate and heal him.

She left the tent and headed back out to the battlefield, just in time to see Alistair caught in the path of the Archdemon's tail. She ran as fast and as hard as she could but it was too late, Alistair was sent flying back into the hill where she saw Morrigan. She screamed and ran, shooting down every tainted creature she could along the way, a Shriek came out of nowhere and tried to slice her with its claws but she out maneuvered it and used the knife in her belt to stab through its neck, then kicked it off. She wiped the blade on her pants and kept moving, killing darkspawn after darkspawn, until she finally reached him.

"I'm alright, love. I cracked a few ribs, but I'm ok." He'd said before sitting up.

"Having fun yet?" She'd asked while firing another shot at a genlock who got too close.

"Oh yes! It's like Satinalia and my Name Day all at once." He grabbed her hand and they moved through the horde back to the Archdemon, who was snapping its huge jaws at Sereda, who just kept on stabbing at its neck.

"Go help her! I'll take care of all these assholes!" She'd sent Alistair back to the Archdemon as she continued to lay waste to every darkspawn she saw. Another ogre came barrelling towards her at a remarkable rate, and she'd fired and fired but the beast wasn't slowing. She saw a flash of blue light to her left and before she knew it the ogre had dropped dead, Fenris glowing behind it. _Hot damn I wish I could do that._

He'd approached her quickly, slicing darkspawn with his giant sword as he walked, "You are the friend of Isabela, correct?"

"Yes," she spoke quickly, trying to get back to the task at hand, "We can make introductions later, we've got a battle to win."

He nodded and sped off, his markings leaving a glowing trail behind him. Serena returned to fighting, shooting and stabbing, kicking and punching any darkspawn she could, when suddenly a sharp pain pierced her gut, she looked down to see a jagged arrowhead sticking out from her skin. She could've sworn she heard Alistair screaming, but she fell down and passed out before she could look up.

ALISTAIR

"SERENA!" He'd seen her get shot by the hurlock's arrow, but couldn't move fast enough to get her out of the fray. He ran but it seemed the harder he ran the further he would be from reaching her, he saw a white haired elf at her side, lifting her from the ground and running for the medic tent. Thank you! Oh please be ok, please Serena please! He turned back to the Archdemon with fury, shooting everything he could at the beast, but it still kept on. Never falling, but slowly starting to lose its gusto. He saw Sereda slashing at its legs, dodging its head and tail. She had a fury in her eyes that matched Alistair's, and he knew that it would be over soon.

The darkspawn seemed to only grow in numbers, outnumbering them 2:1, the battle would be lost soon if the Archdemon wasn't dead by the suns rising. Then overhead he saw the planes. Three fighter jets with Flemeth in her dragon form at the head, charring darkspawn as she passed. The planes shot from the sky, darkspawn falling dead by the dozen; Flemeth had landed, and used her tail, claws and teeth to rip apart the creatures at her feet, never showing mercy. He noticed a dwarf with a crossbow firing bolt after bolt. Taunting the darkspawn all the while. The soldiers had seemed to be faring well, but soon they'd be overwhelmed as the darkspawn were slowly wearing them down. He turned back to see Sereda in the beasts maw, its head shaking and jaws clamping down.

"NO!" He let out a battle cry and ran for the Archdemon, grabbing a darkspawn sword before jamming it into the dragon's neck and yanking, tearing through scale and flesh, black blood spraying through the wound. It dropped Sereda and he rushed to her, hoping against all hope that she was alive.

"Alistair...you big...lug...thank you." She rasped, blood pooling around her armor, "No, you can't die. You can't die! We have to finish this!" he sobbed, trying to put pressure on the wound at her side.

"Then… let's... finish it. Help me up." He helped her to her feet, wrapping an arm around her shoulder; they walked towards the slowly dying Archdemon, stopping to pick up the blade by its neck. They each wrapped a hand around the hilt, placing it above the dragon's skull.

"You have been an honor to fight beside, Sereda Aeducan."

"As have you, Alistair," Sereda coughed, blood staining her lips,"As have you."

They plunged the blade into the Archdemon's skull, a blazing light surrounding them. Alistair's head felt like it was burning, his mind set ablaze by the Tainted God's soul.

_"Did you think I would go down so easily, Bastard Prince?"_

"No, I knew you'd put up more of a fight this time, that's why I've come prepared."

The creature laughed, _"What could a fool such as you prepare for? You spout threats to prolong your death, Bastard Prince. It shall not work on me!"_

The pain in Alistair's skull grew, making him scream in agony. He dropped to his knees and clutched his head, trying to force the beast's spirit from his mind.

_"YOU HAVE FAILED! Give in to death, it is inevitable."_

"NO! I WILL NOT BREAK!" Alistair mustered every ounce of willpower he possessed, pushing as hard he could against the force attempting to kill him from the inside, but power of the Archdemon was too great, and Alistair found himself weakening under its assault. It didn't work, it was all for nothing. Serena... no. NO!

He conjured the face of the woman he loved, wishing he could really see her smile one last time, wishing he could stay and hold her, marry her, and love her until his calling took him. He could feel his life ebbing away with every shove of the Archdemon's soul against his own. He collapsed, waiting for the darkness to consume him...but it never came.

_"What?! Why are you not dead yet, Bastard Prince? ANSWER ME!" _The Archdemon roared inside his mind.

"I...told...you...came...prepared..."

He opened his eyes to find Morrigan beside him, and he knew it was done. The Archdemon's hold on him started to break, and the burning in his head began to vanish.

_"NOOOOO!" _The Archdemon had screamed before fading from his mind completely, leaving him exhausted but alive.

He slowly sat up, and looked at his surroundings, the darkspawn had begun to flee, the soldiers gunning them down before they could reach the tree line. Sereda was being tended to by a woman with short black hair and piercing blue eyes, Isabela was limping towards the mystery woman, Serena's white haired saviour helping her walk. The beardless dwarf was sitting on the ground, an exhausted but joyous look on his face.

He scanned the field but there was still no sign of Serena or Carmine. He stood, wincing at the screaming pain in his ribs. He walked as fast as his exhausted legs would carry him, towards the medic tent where Serena would no doubt be. _Please be ok, please be ok. _He saw her emerge from the tent and let out a relieved laugh. She's alive!' She bounded towards him and leaped, knocking them both to the ground. He let out a cry of pain and she immediately jumped off, whispering apologies and 'I love yous' between the kisses she peppered across his face.

When she pulled back she had tears rolling down her cheeks, the smile she only gave him glued to her face, "We did it," she whispered, "We did it! Thanks to Mor-" she paused to look around, "she's gone. I didn't get a chance to-"

"What happened to her being an evil witch?" He'd asked with a wheezy laugh, _Damn I hurt!_

"She brought you back to me, I can hate her later."

"Help me up, I want to hug you. You mad beautiful woman." She got him to his feet and he wrapped his arms around her, revelling in the feeling of the woman he loved, and all that they had accomplished.

SERENA

The body count for their side was higher than they'd have liked it to be, and twelve men and women had gotten tainted, Carmine among them. He'd been tainted since the start of the battle, the darkspawn blood seeping into his veins through his openly crushed leg.

"We have everything we need to do the Joining! We have the darkspawn and Archdemon blood, we could make them Wardens!" Serena pleaded with Alistair and Sereda, hoping they wouldn't resort to killing these brave men and women.

"We don't have a mage who knows how mix it all together, I'm sorry love. We can't let them suffer." Alistair moved towards the medic tent, but the all too familiar voice had stopped them all in their tracks,

"I know how the Joining works, collect me what you need and I shall get started,"

_The only time I can say I'm glad to see Flemeth!_ "Thank you so much! You have no idea-after all they've sacrificed..." Tears sprang from Serena's eyes once again, grateful that at least some of them may live.

As Alistair went to go collect the blood necessary to do the Joining, Serena went into the tent to check on Carmine. He was feverish, his skin pale and lips turning grey, the milky film of the Taint clouding his eyes. Sereda was at his side, clutching his hand and crying quietly, it made Serena's heart ache to see her Thedosian counterpart so sad.

"Alistair said you were badly injured, are you alright?"

Sereda sniffed, eyes never leaving Carmine's face, "Yeah, that Hawke lady patched me up, she's a kick ass healer."

"You love him don't you?" Serena asked, looking down at the gravely ill man on the cot.

Sereda shrugged, "I wouldn't go that far, but I'm definitely on my way."

Serena had to giggle at that, even in trauma Sereda refused to let her guard completely down. Alistair had returned and Flemeth set to work on the Joining Ritual, while Alistair, Serena, along with Hawke and her group gathered the Tainted to the field, helping to keep them on their feet while Alistair spoke the words that have been said since the First:

"Join us, Brothers and Sisters. Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten. And that one day, we shall join you. Step forward, Alice."

Fenris helped Alice move for the chalice, and she took a drink, her body instantly rejecting the liquid. She convulsed then died; Alistair muttered an apology and closed her eyes.

Only two had made it before Carmine's time had come, he took the chalice and drank, his eyes rolling back in his head. Sereda laid him down and checked his pulse. And everyone burst into relieved laughter when he sat up and planted a firm kiss on Sereda's lips, much to her surprised delight. She helped him get back on his feet Well foot but whatever and Alistair beamed at his three new Wardens, "Congratulations! Carmine, Thomas and Susan. You are now Earth's first Grey Wardens!"

The small group erupted into cheers, clapping each other on the back and shaking hands. It warmed Serena's heart, the Blight was over and Earth had found its first and only defense against another occurring in the future, if that ever came to pass. They were all finally safe.


	15. Chapter 15

Authors note: only the epilogue left :/ it's been an amazing journey with all of you, your support has made me feel like the luckiest gal in the world :) thanks to Enchantm3nt who has stuck it out with me and been my wonderful and patient beta, and also become a wonderful new friend :) thank you all for reading.

ALISTAIR

"Today, we commend these fine men and women for saving our lives only one month ago. They took on a responsibility that was not their own, and on behalf of the American people, and the world," the President spoke. "I would like to thank you, Alistair Theirin, Serena McAllister, Sereda Aeducan, Carmine O'Donnell, and all else who assisted them in defeating the great evil that threatened our planet. All of those who are not from this world are now granted full US citizenship, and as a gift to the heroic Grey Wardens, a base shall be built to house your order here on Earth, so that if this may ever happen again, you will be our defense. Thank you for your unwavering courage and dedication; we shall never forget the heroes of Earth!"

Alistair beamed as the crowds cheered for them all. All of those who helped him defeat the Blight. For once he did not hate being in the spotlight, big he basked in it, knowing that he had found where he belonged, and would gladly defend it a thousand times over if it meant he could stay by Serena's side. _Which reminds me._ Alistair stepped out onto the podium, whispering into the President's ear, "Might I ask my girlfriend to marry me up here?" The President chuckled and nodded, giving Alistair the floor. He took a calming breath and spoke.

"When I came here I crashed into a woman's living room. That woman became the love of my life. She has seen things in me that no other person saw, myself included. She is brave, smart, incredibly beautiful, and she can beat me up, so that says quite a lot of the kind of woman she is," the crowd laughed with him, "Serena could you come up here please?"

She flushed and stepped forward, and he took her hands in his, "Serena I cannot imagine my life without you in it, growing as old as I can with you, you are the light of my life. Our relationship has had its ups and its downs, but I would walk through fire if it made you happy." He got down on one knee, "Serena Elizabeth McAllister, will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

He pulled the little black box out of his pocket, opening it to reveal a rose gold ring encrusted with diamonds, a large garnet set in the center. Serena could only nod, a tearful smile on her face. He placed the ring on her finger, and swept her up into a soft, slow kiss.

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, Isabela whistling louder than anyone in the audience. Makes sense considering we wouldn't have gone this far without her. He saw her turn a sad smile to the white haired elf, Fenris as he wrapped an arm around the waist of Marian Hawke, the healer who saved Carmine and Serena's lives among countless others. He knew how Isabela felt about the elf, and his heart ached on her behalf. He hoped Isabela would find happiness one day, whether it be with a man, woman, or a giant wooden ship, as long as she was happy.

The silver tongued dwarf, Varric approached Alistair, "Your Wardensty," he said with a mock bow, "I come bearing gifts for you and your bride to be."

"Oh?" Serena raised an eyebrow in question. The rogue handed Serena a large packet, and when she opened it and read the papers inside Alistair saw her jaw nearly hit the floor.

"What is it, love?"

She turned her wide eyed gaze to him, "It's...it's a house...he gave us a house!" She squeaked in delight.

Alistair was struck dumb, he took the packet and examined its contents and it was indeed true, he had given them the deed to a house out on Whidbey Island, along with a very significant amount of money. "Why? Why would you do this for someone you barely know?"

"Barely know? Listen, you gave me the story of a life time. It was more than worth the strings I pulled to get you these things. I'll even send you a copy once I've got it all finished. I think you'll like the title, I know I do."

"Why what are you calling it?" He was slightly afraid of the answer.

"Looking Good for a Dead Man," the charming dwarf said with a wink, and Serena and Alistair burst into laughter.

"Considering I should've died, at least three times over by now, the title fits wonderfully."

"I thought it might, well enjoy your home. I'm off to find the drinks." The dwarf re-joined his group and left Alistair and Serena to receive thanks and congratulations from the many people in attendance at the White House. He survived certain death, saved the world, and got the girl. He felt like the luckiest man in the world.

SERENA

'_Can't. Stop. Looking._' She glanced down at her beautiful engagement ring once again, her joy soaring to new heights. She was going to marry the love of her life, the man every girl who knew of him wanted desperately. If she didn't have a big ego before, she definitely had one in that moment. She spotted Isabela off in the corner, staring once again at Hawke and Fenris. My poor pirate. She walked over to her melancholy friend, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Ya know...I'm getting married soon."

"And?" Isabela replied sourly,"Yipee for you."

"That means I'm gonna have to have a bachelorette party...but whoever will I find to help me plan it?" Serena tapped her finger to her chin and waited patiently for the pirate queen to catch on.

She didn't wait long; a bright grin split Isabela's face. "Oh, just you wait. You will either never forget it, or wish you had. I'll start planning now!" The swashbuckler ran off, fingers already dialing her phone. Serena laughed, reveling in the sudden joy she brought to her fun-loving friend.

She was getting married! '_Oh Lord!_' The realization of the task before her, seemed almost as frightening as battling the darkspawn. It took her parents failed marriage to nearly swear off the commitment altogether, but Alistair was not like her mother, nor was she. Marriage took both parties giving one hundred percent in order for it to work, and considering all that they had been through since they met, she had a feeling they were going to be ok.

At the corner of her eye a cloud of black smoke, and then Flemeth herself appear, beckoning for Serena to follow her. When they'd arrived at the gardens Flemeth faced her with a cool expression. "You did not kill Morrigan," she stated curtly.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious. She saved my now fiancés life, so in turn I let her keep hers. If she uses the child to take over, we will handle it then. I know that's a huge risk we are taking, but Morrigan may not even be a threat to us. She may just raise the child out in the wilderness, and leave the rest of the world alone. I won't kill someone who isn't a direct threat, neither will Alistair."

Flemeth appeared to be deep in thought, something that made Serena nervous. When Flemeth spoke again her tone was cryptic at best, and downright confusing at worst, "I see, you are right. Morrigan shall not become a threat to this planet, nor will the child. Theirin babes are strong, don't you think?"

"Uh...I don't know about that. We aren't-"

"No, no of course not. At least not yet, in time though perhaps. Yes...perhaps."

The witch disappeared then, causing Serena to growl in exasperation. She was calling the confusing sorceress every name she could think of as she re-joined the party. _This is all gonna come back to bite me, I just know it..._

When she returned she saw Alistair talking with Carmine, who was sporting a shiny new prosthetic leg. According to conversations she'd had with Sereda, the leg itself cost more than she could imagine without fainting, and it was the best that military technology could offer. At first glance one wouldn't know he was missing a leg, which was exactly how Carmine had wanted it. No pity, no weakness, no pain, that's how the mercenary lived his life. Though when she saw his eyes light up at Sereda coming to stand beside him, Serena knew he'd have to deal with a lot to keep up with a woman like Sereda, but if he could face an ogre and live, he could handle Sereda, maybe. She caught Alistair's eyes and she motioned for the door, it was high time they got out of there and celebrate their engagement...privately.

ALISTAIR

_Six months later..._

Alistair's nerves were through the roof, his palms were sweaty, he had a hard time breathing and anything to do with the wedding had his voice at a near squeak. He hadn't seen Serena since she'd left for her bachelorette party the day before, and he was beginning to worry that she wouldn't show at all. Varric had returned from Thedas just to plan Alistair's bachelor party which was all in all just many pints of ale and several games of diamondback, all of the men in attendance talking of how much Alistair would miss being single once he'd said 'I do':

"I'm telling you Al, marriage is complicated, especially when you have a strong willed woman like yours. There'll be days when you love her, and days when you wanna strangle her because she asked you for the hundredth time if you want to watch that one girly show that makes your skin crawl," Carmine had said after his fifth ale.

"Serena doesn't watch girlie shows; she watches Doctor Who, Sherlock, and all sorts of other non girlie shows. She also likes to play video games, which isn't fair because she beats me at every one," Alistair paused, "You sound like you have experience, have you been married before?"

"Yes," Carmine sighed, "I married my high school sweetheart. She was like every girl in the small town I come from, wanting to settle down with a military man, house with the picket fence the whole deal. Except I was a Marine, we tend to crave a bit more than just the little slice of simple. Every time I came home the house would be spotless, dinner ready, and she'd have on this sexy little dress, but..."

"But what? She sounds like the perfect woman? What happened?" Alistair asked genuinely.

"I know what happened," Varric piped in, "You got stir crazy didn't you? You didn't want what suburbia had to offer, and she did and that drove you insane?"

Carmine nodded, "I wanted to see the world, it's why I signed up with the marines in the first place. To protect my country, and see the exotic places I had dreamed of. I asked her if she wanted to travel with me, but she refused. She never wanted to leave the country, so I left her. Stupid reason, I know, but I'm an adventurous guy, sitting still doesn't work for me at all. So I left her, and when my contract was up with the marines I left and started my agency, now I get to travel, kick ass and make a hell of a lot more money."

They all cheered and raised their glasses, and Alistair spoke up again, "See I'm glad I'm marrying Serena. She wants to travel, to go see far off places, that's one of the things I love about her actually. Well one of many."

Varric wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "Is our lovely Serena able to keep up with the fabled Grey Warden stamina?"

Alistair nearly choked on his ale, "Why would you ask me something like that? Aren't girls usually the ones to talk about this?"

"Well they go into emotional detail, I just want basic details. Now give it, or I call Isabela after their party and get them from her. I will know everything by the end of the night, trust me."

Damned perverted rogues..."Fine. She's uh...well she keeps up very well actually, she actually wears me out on occasion."

The dwarf's eyebrows nearly flew off his head, "Really? She can wear a Warden out," Varric shot a mock glare at Alistair. "You are one lucky bastard."

The group burst out laughing, clinking glasses and swapping stories of best and worst conquests, until Alistair's face was nearly the shade of a tomato, much to the twisted delight of the men who planned his stag night.

SERENA

Serena groaned when she woke, her head pounding and her body in a tangled heap of limbs. All the women had apparently slept in Serena's house last night, and they'd all managed to pass out on the floor. She freed herself from the pile of sleeping females and went straight to her new kitchen to brew some much needed coffee, doing her best to remember the events of the night before:

_"Isabela, I am not wearing a sex toy around my neck! It's not happening. I will wear the weird penis tiara but I will not wear the necklace. That's final!"_

_"Come on, Kitten," the pirate whined, "Its candy! Pleeeeaaassee?"_

_"All the more reason for me not to wear it, now let's go. My step mom and best childhood friend are waiting in the limo for us, also a cranky dwarf who wanted a drink over an hour ago. Let's not test fate here."_

_"Fine," the dusky woman pouted," Let's go; only because Sereda scares me a bit, that's the only reason."_

_The two women stepped inside the rented limousine and there was Leann, Tahlia, and Sereda, champagne in hand and party ready. Even the grumpy she dwarf was wearing a dress, a sapphire blue bandage dress with thick shoulder straps, paired with black patent leather pumps. Leann looked beautiful dark green dress with one strap across the shoulder and a thick silver belt, and flat strappy silver sandals. Tahlia wore a yellow dress to offset her dark hair, the hem cut off at the knees in the front, but the back tapered down to her ankles. Isabela had stunned as usual with a peach colored, skin tight dress that popped against her dark skin, and made her cleavage nearly pop out and say hello. Serena was of course dressed by Isabela, so she was wearing a tight black dress, with a lace collar and sleeves. The only thing the women were wearing in common were sashes that read, "Serena's Bachelorette Party 2014" and Serena wore the ridiculous 'bride to be' tiara decorated with little silver penises._

_They had gotten to the "secret location" Isabela had sworn was going to be the best place they'd ever been to ever. Serena was blindfolded and led through a door and sat down, music started playing and when the blindfold was removed she was face to face with a male stripper's crotch. Serena screeched and tried to get out of the chair but Isabela had held her down and handed her another drink...everything was a blur after that._

Isabela was the first to rise from the dead, taking a cup of coffee gratefully, rubbing a sore spot in her neck, "Some party that was, I think that was my best yet. Did you have fun?"

Serena chuckled, "If I can remember past the Cuban in the green thong I'll let you know."

One by one the rest of the women poured themselves into the kitchen, snatching coffee and aspirin like their lives depended on it. After everyone's heads and stomachs were settled, they changed and headed off to go get ready for the wedding.

ALISTAIR

It was time. He saw Isabela and tried to convince her to let him see Serena, but she wouldn't budge. Telling him he would see her when she walked down the aisle. He grumbled all the way back to the chapel, and took his place at the altar, straightening his black tie. Alistair's heart was racing, he took a deep breath and when the music started, he turned to see the bridesmaids and groomsmen walking down. Isabela was first, as was Carmine, the maid of honor and best man. Then Tahlia and Serena's brother, Walker. Sereda and another of Sereda's brothers Alex, then Serena's twin sisters each paired up with one of the new Grey Wardens. Lily was walking with Thomas and Nicole was walking with Susan. It was certainly interesting for others to see two women paired up, but Alistair wouldn't go through with it if he didn't have all his fellow Wardens at his side, Susan included.

Then the bride's music started, and what Alistair saw took his breath away. Serena was in a beautiful white gown, the sleeves sat off her shoulders, a golden ribbon sat underneath her bosom, and the gown flowed out from there, layers of sheer lace and silk sliding across her form gracefully. Her hair was pinned up, with a few waves left loose around her face. Tears welled up at the sight of his bride, the most amazing woman he'd ever met. It wasn't long before she had tears in her own eyes as she approached him, taking his hands in hers as Varric started the ceremony.

He had managed to say his vows and 'I do' without pulling her in for a kiss, but when Varric had said "You may kiss the.." Alistair's mouth was on hers he picked her up by the waist and kissed her in a way that could only be described as loving, and the congregation applauded and whistled at the happy couple, and Alistair swept up his beautiful wife, carrying her out of the church to the car waiting out front, "I love you, Serena Elizabeth Theirin."

"And I love you, Alistair Marcus Theirin. Always."


	16. Epilogue

Authors Note: so here we are. All I can say is thank you. From the bottom of my heart to all those who read, reviewed, favorited and followed. Even to all you silent readers out there, thank you. Thank you to my wonderful new friend/beta Enchantm3nt, who has been a wonderful teacher and collaborator and all the cookies e hugs and gift fics in the world could not express my gratitude.

_Somewhere in the Vimmark Mountains..._

_Step, breathe, contraction. Step, breathe, contraction. _The pain was excruciating, her whole body was clamping down on itself. She felt weak, weaker with every twist of her womb. She had to keep moving, the woods were no place to safely deliver the babe. She had thought of the Templar in that moment, sending him a silent thank you for the life he had gifted her.

She was sceptical of motherhood at first, thinking ever pragmatically as to what uses the child would one day have. Though with every week of her pregnancy the fonder she grew of the child. She loved the infant dearly, and wanted to shield it from the cruel world of men. Allowing themselves to live in peace among the forests.

_Step, breathe, contraction. Step, breathe, contraction._ Finally her body could take no more walking and her legs buckled, and she collapsed on the cold, wet ground. Fluid was gushing from between her legs, it was time. She pushed, as hard as she could manage, though her body was becoming weaker by the moment. The child had been slowly draining her since its conception, and now it seemed it would take her very life before it entered the world. She pushed again, and again. She could not lift her head; instead it lolled sleepily to the side. A figure appeared above her, granting her the faintest glimmer of hope for her own survival.

"Mother, you have come to aid me?" she croaked, her own voice lacking the strength to speak above a whisper.

"I have. You are dying, my girl," The witch knelt between Morrigan's sprawled thighs, pushing her hand through to feel the infant.

"I cannot die, not yet. The child-"

"The child will live, my daughter. Now push, as hard as you can. It is almost among us."

She pushed, her heart slowing to dull beats in her chest_...thump...thump..._

"Again, girl. Its head is out, only once more."

Thump...thump...she pushed again, hearing the cries of the babe instantly. She weakly lifted her head to see the child. A girl._..thump...thump..._

"Mother, help me please. Save me," Morrigan pleaded with her mother, hoping she could save her from her inevitable. _Thump...thump...thump..._

"I cannot. You are too far gone. You are not the first, my daughter. Not every woman can carry a Theirin child, especially with circumstances such as yours. You have done well, my Morrigan. You performed your task beautifully."

No! She would not die! She could not leave this child to her mother, she would not. She tried to summon a spell, but her mana was completely drained. Her attempt to lift her arms to grab the babe proved futile. Flemeth merely stood, and stepped back with the infant.

"You harpy! You knew! You...knew..." _Thump...thump..._

Morrigan gasped, taking her last breath before her body slumped to the ground with a sickening thud, her lifeless eyes staring out into the distance.

"Ah, finally. Too bad I had to wait so long," Flemeth set the infant down on the cold ground, whispering a spell before her body fell to the ground beside Morrigan's, black smoke flowing from the crones lips. Morrigan's eyes fluttered open and she gasped, sitting up and examining herself with a clinical eye.

"Ah! How good it feels to be young again! For too long I've had to suffer in the body of that hag!"

Flemeth, now in possession of the young mother's body, stared down at the grey eyed girl, who was eyeing the witch in a curious manner while suckling at her breast, "You dear child, shall be my prodigy. The power you will one day wield shall bring kings to their knees. I shall be sure of that..."

The now young Flemeth walked deeper into the wilds, the babe tucked securely in her arms...soon disappearing into a cloud of black smoke.


End file.
